The Milwaukee Post

to bringing new ideas, new energy and new perspective. I wanted that to be me. I want to make a difference. POST: What do you want to see hap- pen with downtown South Milwaukee? BROOKS: We need a community-sup- ported, community-generated plan. Of course, I've got ideas but I'm smart enough to know that there are smarter people than me that have better ideas. My vision is destination retail, providing a reason for people to come downtown to buy goods and services that you can't get at a big-box store. There are literally thou- sands of examples across the country of downtowns that are working even in a sea of big-box retail stores. We can make it happen downtown, but we're going to have to be creative and bring good ideas to the table and debate them. POST: What are some successful endeavors involving downtown South Milwaukee? BROOKS: The South Milwaukee Downtown Farmers Market is one exam- ple. It certainly can be considered a busi- ness and it brings hundreds, if not thou- sands, of people downtown each week. Attracting people is important so that they get used to being downtown to do their business and making it part of their ritual. In the end, I want downtown South Milwaukee to be vibrant again with a mix of destination business. POST: What was your role in get- ting the Farmers Market up and run- ning again? BROOKS: I was the co-founder of the market along with City Clerk Jim Schelenske. The idea launched in the win- ter of 2009 and by the next July we had a market. We started with 25 vendors and we're regularly at 50 to 60 every week, sometimes more. We have a great, eclectic mix of vendors along with live music. We're also doing some indoor markets. It's a good first step toward downtown revital- ization. We need to leverage that. POST: What is the future of the Farmers Market? BROOKS: We need to figure out the long-term home for the market. Right now, we are on a borrowed parking lot from Caterpillar on a city street that we close off and we also are on a plot of land that the city is actively seeking to sell. It's not a bad site but it's far from a permanent home. POST: What else can be done to revitalize downtown South Milwaukee? BROOKS: Enforcing building codes, which literally means cracking down on broken windows. We also need some streetscaping. Downtown looks kind of tired right now. There are also big ideas around tax incremental financing and business improvement districts. POST: Do you think you will be able to build consensus among the alder- man for your various visions? BROOKS: We'll see. All I've asked of the aldermen and anyone I talk to is to be open to discussing big ideas. These are discussions we just haven't been having. But I'm not going to ram through an agen- da. POST: You finished first in a three- candidate primary and you had a resounding victory in the general election. What do you think the voters were saying? BROOKS: They are ready to embrace change and not afraid to tackle the big issues. I want people working together to find solutions. The hard work begins now of actually delivering what I talked about in the campaign and what the people voted for. POST: Where does South Milwaukee fit in the South Shore and are there opportunities for coopera- tive efforts with neighboring commu- nities? BROOKS: One of the first things I did, literally within hours after the election, was to reach out to the other (South Shore) mayors. We certainly have our own interests, but we certainly are stronger together than we are apart, especially when it comes to economic development. There are opportunities for partnerships and I want to explore those. We already work together all the time on public safe- ty issues. There are opportunities to for- malize some of these things. There is always talk of consolidation and sharing of services. I'm open to that. I think you have to be. My high-level view of that is show me that the service we can get from a consolidated or shared operation is the same or better at a lower cost, then we can have a discussion. This day and age, with tight budgets, and they are tighter than ever, you have to be open to discuss that. POST: Caterpillar is the largest employer in the city and its predeces- sor, Bucyrus International, had a long history in South Milwaukee. Given the massive job cuts since the change in ownership three years ago, how con- cerned are you about the future of Caterpillar in South Milwaukee? BROOKS: It's concerning. Any time you see that level of job loss at any employer it's concerning. That facility has been such an important part of the fabric of our city, which literally grew up around that plant. It's about 40 acres in the heart of the city. When you've had such a strong commitment for so many years from a major employer, it anchors your city. But, boy, you worry all the time about what's going to happen there. It's an important part of South Milwaukee from a historical perspective, from an econom- ic perspective and a future perspective. POST: On election night, you were addressing your supporters and you mentioned the now-former Mayor Thomas Zepecki. What are your thoughts about his four terms in office? BROOKS: Tom Zepecki is a good man who served this community for almost 30 years in government and he accomplished a lot and, honestly, leaves a strong founda- tion for me to build on. We are in great shape financially. We've had years of con- servative budgeting and I will continue that. We have been very good stewards of taxpayer money. A lot of that, he should take credit for. We have a terrific bond rat- ing that allows us to borrow money at a much cheaper rate. We've balanced all of our budgets and we've got a great contin- gency. POST: Do you think you ran a posi- tive campaign? BROOKS: I think I ran a very positive campaign. I wanted to make it less about the proud past of South Milwaukee and more about the promising future and lay out a vision and let the people decide if they wanted to support the vision. I didn't make it about me versus Tom. POST: What do you see as the posi- tive attributes of South Milwaukee? BROOKS: We've got clean and safe streets, affordable housing, close proximity to the city of Milwaukee and the airport. We have a terrific school system. Over 20 percent of our land mass is parks or park- ways. I love the city and I'm excited about the job. 6 • Milwaukee County Post • May 2, 2014 Brooks: Suburb's downtown top priority continued from Page 1 Submitted photo Prior to becoming the mayor of South Milwaukee, Erik Brooks was the co-founder of the South Milwaukee Downtown Farmers Market. Since it began in 2009, the event has experienced growth in vendors and the addition of live music. 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