Oak Creek continues its search for city administrator

Aug. 31, 2010 3:06 p.m. | No decisions were made Monday night on hiring a new Oak Creek city administrator.

The Common Council met in closed session to discuss the four finalists - Gary Boden of Clinton, Iowa; William Jones of Winnetka, Ill.; James Payne of Rio Rancho, N.M.; and Gerald Peterson of Marquette, Mich.

But more questions popped up during those discussions the council will need answers before the city can make a decision, Mayor Dick Bolender said.

"We're just looking at the candidates with a very fine-tooth comb," he said. "We need to make sure we get somebody who can help us build this city and move forward."

Bolender said the council doesn't necessarily have to pick from those four candidates. If aldermen are not satisfied with any of them, the city could re-open the search process.

Oak Creek fire under control

Aug. 31, 2010 1:32 p.m. | A fire that started around noon at an industrial building in Oak Creek is now under control and crews have left the scene.

The fire was reported at DIC Imaging Products USA Inc., in 7300 block of S. 10th St., just south of W. Rawson Ave.

A police officer on the scene said the blaze appears to have been caused by a flash fire in the company's dust collection system.

Multiple departments responded to the fire, which was extinguished by 1:15 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

Council may act on administrator on Monday

Aug. 27, 2010 6:24 p.m. | Another special Common Council meeting has been called for Monday to discuss finalists for the city administrator position.

The council will go into closed session at 6:30 p.m. and could possibly take action in open session.

The four finalists are Gary Boden of Clinton, Iowa; William Jones of Winnetka, Ill.; James Payne of Rio Rancho, N.M.; and Gerald Peterson of Marquette, Mich.

The finalists were in Oak Creek on Wednesday and Thursday for a tour of municipal buildings, a meet-and-greet with department heads and elected officials and closed-session interviews with the Common Council.

Committee begins work on parkway extension study

Aug. 27, 2010 5:32 p.m. | An advisory committee studying a possible extension of Lake Parkway met for the first time this morning.

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors requested the committee earlier this year after the idea of replacing the Hoan Bridge with a surface-level road. Many residents and government officials criticized that prospect.

Today's meeting set the context for the committee to follow, which will encompass the Hoan Bridge, the Interstate 794 corridor and the proposed 794 extension to Ryan Road, according to a news release from Supervisor Patricia Jursik, who chaired the meeting.

The committee has representatives from Milwaukee, St. Francis, Cudahy, South Milwaukee and Oak Creek, as well as county and state officials. Mayor Dick Bolender serves as the Oak Creek representative.

Special football preview section now online

Aug. 26, 2010 12:18 p.m. | We're just hours away from the first official games of the 2010 high school football season and there is no better way to find out the latest news on your favorite team then to check out NOW's comprehensive football preview page.

The page is packed with videos on area teams, a roundtable discussion from our sportswriters previewing the top teams to watch, position by position breakdowns, an interactive poll, photo gallery and more.

Go to NOW's 2010 football preview section.

Dome will be on the move Thursday

Aug. 25, 2010 12:16 p.m. | The observatory dome at the former Delphi plant will be temporarily moved to the Oak Creek Street Department on Thursday morning.

Mayor Dick Bolender wanted to save the dome to retain a connection to the city's history and teach future generations about the importance of Delphi and the contributions of the thousands of Oak Creek residents who worked there.

The dome, which was once used as part of a facility to monitor space flights and develop navigational systems for the nation's aerospace industry, will be temporarily stored at the street department before a permanent location is decided.

Delphi itself is being demolished to prepare for redevelopment. The firm once employed as many as 4,000 people but closed in 2008.

Previous story here: http://www.oakcreeknow.com/news/99400304.html

City lists names of administrator finalists

Aug. 25, 2010 12:10 p.m. | The four finalists for the Oak Creek city administrator positions have been named.

William Jones of Winnetka, Ill.; James Payne of Rio Rancho, N.M.; Gary Boden of Clinton, Iowa; and Gerald Peterson of Marquette, Mich., will interview with the Common Council on Thursday.

Each candidate will have an hour meeting with the council in closed session. The interviews begin at 10 a.m.

The candidates were scheduled to arrive in Oak Creek today and tour the city and municipal buildings and later participate in a meet-and-greet with Mayor Dick Bolender, department heads and council members.

Businessman will pay farmer's legal fees in dispute with Oak Creek

Aug. 23, 2010 3:34 p.m. | A local businessman has stepped up to pay the legal fees of Earl Giefer, the 94-year-old farmer who was in the center of an eminent domain controversy in Oak Creek.

Scott Mayer said he, like Giefer, has had difficulty dealing with municipal government and was taught by his father to give back and help people.

After following Giefer's case in the newspaper, he reached out to the family to pick up the tab on attorneys fees, roughly $9,000.

"I've been jagged around in the past on real estate stuff like this," Mayer said. "I've done well in my life, so I thought it was an opportunity" to help the Giefer family, he said.

"It was a real simple situation for me."

Finalists for administrator job will be in town for interviews, tour

Aug. 17, 2010 9:28 a.m. | Oak Creek is getting closer to hiring a new city administrator.

Finalists for the position will be in town Aug. 25 and 26, meeting local officials, touring the city and interviewing with the Common Council, according to a report to aldermen.

Department manager and administrator candidates will board a bus at 1 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Police Department for a tour of Oak Creek and city buildings.

Afterward, a meet-and-greet will be held in the municipal courtroom with Mayor Dick Bolender, department heads and council members.

On Aug. 26, the council will spend the day meeting in closed session interviewing each candidate individually.

Oak Creek eyes old Delphi plant for civic center

Aug. 17, 2010 8:25 a.m. | The Common Council tonight will discuss the future of the 85-acre former Delphi property, 7929 S. Howell Ave., and that could include new municipal buildings.

For some time, the city has discussed building a civic center, which would be a combination of a new City Hall and library, as well as a new fire station.

In a report to council members, officials said putting the library and City Hall at the old Delphi site could be the "cornerstone of a new city center," which could also include housing, restaurants and retail establishments.

The only decision the council would make tonight is whether to create a master plan for the Delphi property and civic center.

The Oak Creek-Franklin School District, meanwhile, has mulled building a new high school. If the civic center was built on the Delphi land, a new school could be built where the City Hall and library now exists, according to the report.

Psychologist accused of exploiting patients

Aug. 13, 2010 3:26 p.m. | An Oak Creek psychologist has been charged with sexually exploiting two female patients.

Jeffrey A. Adamczak, 47, improperly touched one patient in 2004 and had a year-long sexual relationship with another woman that started when she was his patient in 2005, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday. Each count of sexual exploitation by a therapist is a felony punishable by up to 12 1/2 years in prison.

Adamczak was released on a signature bond after an appearance in court Friday.

According to the complaint, one woman had been seeing Adamczak professionally on a regular basis for about three years when, after she filed for divorce in February 2005, Adamczak kissed her and touched her sexually. The next day they began a yearlong sexual relationship, according to the complaint.

A second woman told investigators that Adamczak had improperly touched her after a session in December 2004. When she returned the next week, he never mentioned it, and she decided to end the patient-therapist relationship. At the end of that session, she told investigators, Adamczak told her, "If you lose the 60 pounds you want to lose, I'll get the hotel room."

Last chance to win State Fair tickets on Facebook

Aug. 12, 2010 8:04 a.m. | With just a few days left of the Wisconsin State Fair, you still have time to score free tickets from NOW Newspapers.

All you have to do is "like" NOW Newspapers on Facebook and respond to our last status update and tell us your favorite story from our papers this week.

A random drawing will be held at 8 a.m. Friday and announced on Facebook.

Winners will receive a four-pack of tickets to the fair, which begins runs to Sunday. Winners will have to pick up the tickets in our Waukesha office, 1741 Dolphin Drive, Suite A, 53186.

Deal to bring Bucyrus to Oak Creek moves forward

Aug. 11, 2010 11:56 a.m. | A key part of the deal to bringing Bucyrus International Inc. into Oak Creek moved a step closer to gaining city approval Tuesday night.

The Plan Commission recommended the Common Council adopt a formal project plan for a tax-incremental financing district, which was one of the incentives the city offered in its quest to land the South Milwaukee-based mining equipment company. The city also is providing Bucyrus with up to $2 million in property tax breaks.

With a TIF district, the city borrows money to pay for infrastructure improvements - such as roads and sewers - within a defined area. As a district develops, the increased tax dollars generated by it are used to repay the loans issued for those improvements.

Bucyrus in May announced that it was purchasing the former Midwest Airlines headquarters at 6744 S. Howell Ave. The company is expected to bring between 200 and 300 jobs to the city.

Also part of that 182-acre district is a proposed three-hotel development. The developer told the Plan Commission Tuesday that financing for the first hotel is finally in place after a delay of more than two years, though plans are still not completely finalized.