Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/303615
By Arthur Thomas Freeman Staff WAUKESHA – Twenty- five Waukesha County municipalities will receive a total of more than $1.2 million in dividend pay- ments for their participa- tion in the Waukesha Coun- ty Recycling Program, County Executive Dan Vrakas has announced. The payments are intend- ed to offset the cost of resi- dential recycling programs. They are coming after the county Material Recycling Facility processed enough recyclables to save almost 47,000 cubic yards of land- fill space. That is the equiv- alent of a football field with items piled over 22 feet high. The payments are expect- ed to cover one-third of the recycling collection costs paid by local taxpayers. Vrakas said the dividend payment was consistent with previous years and credited the cooperative nature of the project for reducing duplication of ser- vices. "Through this successful partnership we are con- serving natural resources, creating jobs, and meeting the demand by manufactur- ers for recycled materials. I would like to thank the residents for diligently recycling all items accepted in our program," Vrakas said. The payments vary for each municipality based on program costs, the amount of solid waste and the amount of recyclables. The city of Waukesha led all municipalities by receiv- ing a nearly $300,000 pay- ment, not surprising given the city has at least 30,000 more residents than any other municipality on the list. Waukesha sent roughly 4,500 tons of materials to the recycling facility. The cities of Brookfield and New Berlin also saw six-figure payments at roughly $212,000 and $108,000 respectively. Those communities sent 3,000 and 3,300 tons of materials each to be recycled respectively. However, the city of Oconomowoc received the largest per-person payment for a city at $5.71. The city sent just over 1,000 tons of recycling to the county. While individual taxpay- ers will not receive the money directly, compar- isons of municipalities that factor in population are the clearest. Hartland received the largest payment for a vil- lage at $45,743, while Lac La Belle had the largest per capita payment at $9.47. The towns of Delafield, Lisbon and Waukesha all received payments of over $40,000, but Waukesha had the largest per capita amongst towns at $5.33. The city of New Berlin had the best recycling rate amongst all municipalities at 29.8 percent. The rate is determined by dividing the total weight of items recy- cled by the total weight of recycling and landfill items. The village of Merton and Town of Waukesha also had top recycling rates at 26.7 and 25.2 percent. The city of Waukesha was in the top three in 2012, but fell to sixth in 2013. The village of Oconomowoc Lake, city of Delafield and village of Nashotah had the lowest rates. All three were between 13 and 14 percent. In April, the County Board approved entering into an intergovernmental agreement between Wauke- sha County and the city of Milwaukee to implement a new single-sort recycling program to be run by a pri- vate operator. The change is projected to lead to a 25 per- cent increase in recycling volume, according to Vrakas' office. In 2013, the county facili- ty processed nearly 19,000 tons of recyclables – a 7.7 percent decrease from 2012. Residents in those same municipalities disposed of more than 73,000 tons of trash, a slight decrease from the previous year. Per capita recycling has decreased 29 percent since 2004 from 190 pounds to 135.3. The decrease in recy- clables was attributed to lighter weight containers, changes in packaging, smaller publications and a transition from print to electronic media. Vrakas' office estimated that 10,339 tons of paper and cardboard, 1,641 tons of plastic bottles, 500 tons of steel cans, 285 tons of alu- minum cans and 4,568 tons of glass were processed in 2013. Email: athomas@conleynet.com MAY 2014 Freeman Brookfield & Elm Grove/Page 5A We serve only the best We cater to your group of 50 to 500 AMPLE PARKING Check out our online menu www.panosbanquetcenter.com 20290 W. Bluemound Rd. | Brookfield, WI 53045 262.782.8670 | Fax: 262.782.6456 Our Brunch Buffet will be served Sunday, May 11, 2014 From 10:00 am - 4:00 pm in our Panos' Banquet Hall Breakfast Items (Only available until 1:00 pm) Scrambled eggs, French Toast, Hash Browns, Sausage & Bacon Omelets to order Main Entrée Items Chef Carved Prime Rib, Virginia Baked Ham, Beef Tenderloin Tips, Oven Roasted Turkey, Sautéed Chicken Breast, Peel and Eat Shrimp B.B.Q. 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" MAKE AN OFFER " on 30% of inventory that must go to make room for new items arriving! While supplies last! Hurry In for Best Selection! Sale in Progress! 2 3 6 8 9 5 0 0 5 Freeman file photo A recycling truck leaves the Waukesha County Materials Recy- cling Facility. BROOKFIELD – Mayor Steve Ponto said one of the main goals of his second term as mayor will be to maintain high levels of ser- vice in the city. After winning re-election over former Mayor Jeff Speaker, Ponto said he would continue high levels through the use of technolo- gy to provide better service with fewer tax dollars. He also said more joint service agreements would also help. Ponto won a second term by defeating Speaker 64 per- cent to 36 percent. When the two faced off four years ago, Ponto was able to unseat Speaker, but only by a small margin. Ponto said it felt good to have the support of the com- munity. "I'm delighted," he said while celebrating his victory at the Venice Club on elec- tion night. "I worked very hard on this campaign.'' While Ponto was able to celebrate on election night, the candidates in another Brookfield race had to wait over two weeks for their results to be official. Challenger Eric Highum defeated Waukesha County Board District 8 incumbent Pat Haukohl by just six votes. The unofficial results on election night showed High- um ahead by that margin and it stayed the same after the official canvass. Haukohl chose to ask for a recount, citing supporters encouraging her to do so. "I am just looking for that certainty in the final count. I feel that I would be letting down the people who sup- ported me if I did not do it," she said. After one final round of counting, the results didn't change and Highum was sworn in to his seat on the County Board. By Dwayne Butler Freeman Staff WAUKESHA – The harsh winter is being blamed for a slow real estate market in metro Milwaukee during the first three months of 2014. Home sales in the four- county region were behind 10.2 percent in the first quar- ter of 2014 compared with the same period a year ago, according to statistics released by the Metropolitan Listing Service, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Greater Milwaukee Associa- tion of Realtors. The region, which includes Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties, also experienced a 14.6 percent decline in March. The four-county region sold 3,254 homes from Jan- uary through March 2014 compared with 2,921 homes from January-March 2013. Waukesha County experi- enced a 12.5 percent decline with 753 homes sold versus 861 last year. Milwaukee County declined 10 percent with 1,709 homes sold versus 1,898 last year. Washington County and Ozaukee County had drops of 7 and 7.7 per- cent, respectively. The GMAR reported that a slow March impacted the first-quarter figures; sales were down 208 units com- pared with the same month a year earlier. January and February were down 28 and 97 units, respectively, it added. Waukesha County sold 326 homes in March, but that number was down 18.3 per- cent over the same month in 2013. However, it was just 3.8 percent behind the 2012 March figures. Milwaukee County (down 14.4 percent), Ozaukee Coun- ty (2.4 percent) and Washing- ton County (12.9 percent) all posted negative numbers in March. "That is an sign of just how cold and long the winter was; each month saw progressive- ly worse sales performance compared to last year," GMAR President Mike Ruzic- ka said in a statement. Listings up On the plus side, prospec- tive buyers saw a jump in list- ings. The market increased by 2.7 percent for the first quarter of 2014 and 6.6 per- cent in March, a sign that sellers could see an uptick in spring sales, the GMAR said. The four-county area had 6,506 homes on the market compared with 6,506 in the first quarter of 2013. Waukesha County (0.9 per- cent), Milwaukee County (5 percent) and Ozaukee County (2.7 percent) all had higher listing numbers, while Wash- ington County declined by 5.6 percent. The March inventory level was 6.7 months, which could be a sign of a very healthy spring market, the GMAR said. However, the GMAR pointed out that if the 1,726 listings with an active offer are subtracted from current listings of 8,759, the invento- ry level drops to 4.8 months. Nonetheless, the GMAR is optimistic that an increase in listings should fuel a robust spring and summer market. "As the thermometer rises, we will see more listings added to current inventory in anticipation of a busier mar- ket in April. The cold weath- er just pushed off the start of the busy season by about 30 to 45 days," the GMAR said. www.gmar.com Email: dbutler@conleynet.com Ponto wins re-election; Highum on County Board after recount Weather blamed for slow real estate market Metro homes sales down 10.2% in first quarter; 14.6% in March County details how it pays recycling program participants Waukesha to receive nearly $300,000