Muskego-Franklin Sewer to MMSD May Still be Subject to Referendum

According to an article in the Business Journal, A Milwaukee County Board supervisor is still pursuing a referendum and potential legal action against an interceptor sewer under construction in Franklin that could open about 8.5 square miles of farmland for development.

The board  will vote on Thursday on whether to override County Executive Chris Abele’s veto of a proposal to hold an advisory voter referendum on the project in April.

Franklin and Muskego officials see the sewer paving the way for development on a tract of land larger than some area cities. Supervisor John Weishan, who sponsors the plan to hold an advisory referendum on the project in April, said the region’s floods and basement backups also have economic consequences, and the money is better spent solving those problems.

Weisan has said previously that the project had "unfairly jumped ahead of other more worthy sewer fixes" for communities like those on the north side that experienced flooding in the summer of 2010.  However, Dave Simpson, city planning engineer, said MMSD had already done a review of possible projects, and if there was something they could have done sooner to address the flooding, they would have acted.

"I can't see how a referendum will change anything," Simpson said in an "At the district, contracts are already in place and have been awarded. In addition, I'm not sure that the County Executive's office has anything to do with MMSD."

Franklin already started construction on the interceptor sewer, and the project is scheduled for completion in August 2013.  The interceptor is expected to provide sewer service that is a prerequisite for commercial development. The $41 million project will likely cost millions less due to competitive bids from contractors.

“I don’t believe that it is too late to have an effect on the project because this thing will not instantaneously be built overnight,” he said.