Wal-Mart sale clears Brown Deer CDA

May 17, 2013 11:36 a.m. | Brown Deer — After closed session negotiations Wednesday evening, the Community Development Authority unanimously approved a termination of its original 2006 agreement with Lowe's and approved a new agreement with Wal-Mart to develop the vacant Lowe's building on Brown Deer Road.

The CDA's actions amount to recommendations to the Village Board, which will consider the matter on Monday.

When the village partnered through tax incremental financing with Lowe's in 2006, it borrowed $2.4 million to jump start the development. Under the terms of the termination, Lowe's agrees to pay the village $1.25 million to satisfy the outstanding debt payments it would have otherwise funded through property taxes.

The Wal-Mart agreement acknowledges that the retailer will invest at least $11 million in the site. However much Wal-Mart ends up investing, multiplied by the village's assessment ratio — .95 in the 2012 tax year — will determine a fair market "floor value" that Walmart and any successors, at the least, will have to guarantee and pay taxes on.

Both the Lowe's termination agreement and Wal-Mart redevelopment agreement are contingent on the village approving site, landscape, architectural and outdoor lighting, and operational plans. Both agreements have no effect unless the sale between Lowe's and Wal-Mart goes through.

Homestead's Pelisek earns honor from First Bank/ Sports Radio 1250

May 16, 2013 10:57 p.m. | Homestead senior defensive back Riley Pelisek was named the football athlete of the year by SportsRadio 1250 AM and First Bank Financial.

For his work with the WIAA State Division 2 champion Highlander squad last fall, Pelisek received a $1,500 scholarship in a ceremony at the First Bank office in Mequon Thursday morning.

1250 Radio names an athlete of the week each fall and winter for first the football and then the basketball season. They then take all the weekly winners and choose an athlete of the year for each sport.

Pelisek, who plans on attending the University of Pennsylvania with the idea of going into the school's prestigious Wharton School of Business, was grateful for the honor.

"Every little bit helps," he said. Pelisek recently helped the Highlander boys' track team win its fifth straight North Shore Conference Triple Crown with the league outdoor title on Tuesday.

Shorewood Schools Business Manager moves on

May 15, 2013 10:26 a.m. | Shorewood School District Business Manager Mark Boehlke has accepted an assistant superintedent position in the Sheboygan Area School District and will leave in June, according to a district news release.

In his new post, Boehlke will be in charge of business and operational services. He has been with the Shorewood district since 2006.

"As hard as it is to leave, I am looking forward to the new challenges and the opportunity to work in my hometown," Boehlke said in the release.

Superintendent Martin Lexmond said in the release that the district will immediately begin search for a replacement, and may hire a search firm to held screen candidates before finalists are brought before the Finance and Facilities Committee, community members, staff, and School Board as part of the hiring process.

Brown Deer Walmart store likely

May 14, 2013 2:12 p.m. | Brown Deer — A planned Walmart at the former Lowe's site on the 6300 block of Brown Deer Road is likely, pending sale of the property between the two retailers and negotiations with the village Community Development Authority.

Walmart is planning to expand the approximately 130,000 square foot Lowe's building to about 150,000 square feet to accommodate a full grocery and pharmacy in addition to the typical layout.

Serving the North Shore

Wisconsin Regional Manager and Mequon resident Mitch Cox said the nearby location off Brown Deer Road and 76th Street, recently relocated to Silver Spring and 103rd Street, took its customer base with it. He said the Brown Deer location would stock more upscale merchandise compared to other Walmarts, in an effort to target area customers.

"We need to serve the North Shore customer," Cox said, "and we haven't."

Vinamo, a wine bar with small plates, to open in Whitefish Bay in August

May 14, 2013 7:23 a.m. | When Rosemarie Niles opened a frozen yogurt shop with her husband in DeLand, Fla., last year, she soon discovered the tapas place across the street and the wine bar next door. Now she's combining the concept of both in Vinamo, a wine bar and small-plates restaurant at 402 E. Silver Spring Drive in Whitefish Bay.

Vinamo is expected to open in August.

"I love wine, I love small-plate dining, too," Niles said. "It makes the whole dining experience more enjoyable" because it encourages guests to share, linger and talk about food.  

The restaurant would serve soups, salads and sandwiches at lunch, small plates at night and brunch on the weekends. Niles said she's planning to offer dishes that would appeal to diners who are health conscious "without scaring away people who aren't." Vinamo would use ingredients such as free-range chicken and grass-fed beef, and incorporate organic ingredients such as greens when possible, she said.

Niles, whose parents owned the former Sardi's Italian restaurant in Mequon, said menu will have European dishes in general, and a number of Italian dishes.

Whitefish Bay superintendent resigns

May 13, 2013 1:11 p.m. | Whitefish Bay — Superintendent Mary Gavigan has announced she will be leaving the district in favor of an executive director post at the Cooperative Educational Service Agency.

She will be taking over CESA #1, one of 12 regional service providers in Wisconsin. According to the CESA #1 web page, the provider's southeastern Wisconsin coverage area spans 45 schools districts across six counties, containing more than 29,000 educators and more than 300,000 students. Oftentimes districts contract with CESA for services like special education, staffing, consultations, professional development services, student learning programs, and student support and intervention services.

On a broader level, CESA is advancing what Gavigan calls a "three-pronged approach" consisting of regional collaboration between area superintendents, college and career readiness for students, and a "transformational initiative" aimed at individually customized lesson plans.

"The future is very much about personalizing student education," Gavigan said. "It's a dynamic time, so it's an exciting time to work regionally, and across the state."

Gavigan was chosen in 2010 to succeed Whitefish Bay School District Superintendent James Rickabaugh. Coincidentally, she will again succeed Rickabaugh when she takes over as executive director of CESA #1. The School Board will meet in closed session Tuesday evening to begin hashing out a transitional plan for the superintendent position; the agenda indicates the board may select an interim superintendent.

Elmbrook recommends new Brookfield Elementary principal

May 10, 2013 5:02 p.m. | Daniel Westfahl, currently principal at Stormonth Elementary School in the Fox Point-Bayside School District, has been chosen to take the reins at Brookfield Elementary School.

The Elmbrook School Board is set to vote on a two-year contract for Westfahl on Monday. It stipulates a salary of $99,000.

Westfahl has been principal at Stormonth for three years. He began his career in education as a first-grade teacher at Marcy Elementary School in the Hamilton School District in 1993.

Brookfield Elementary Principal Lynn Raines announced her retirement in March. She has been with the district since 2004, starting as a first-grade teacher at Burleigh Elementary, and began her position as principal at Brookfield Elementary in 2009.

Elmbrook received 68 applications in response to the posting for the position, according to School Board documents posted today. Eight candidates were initially screened, and three finalists were selected by an interview team.