Muskego Needs to Bring Back the Lake

Recently, City of Muskego officials unveiled two concepts for their proposed Bring Back The Lake development project.

Muskego needs this, in one form or another.

All throughout Muskego, exciting developments of all sorts and all sizes are unfolding. Park Arthur is being redeveloped. St. Paul's Lutheran Church is expanding its campus. The early phases of the Janesville Road Reconstruction project are starting to gel (emphasis on early). Construction on an impressive new facility for Muskego Tire & Auto was recently completed. It wasn't that long ago we recently secured General Electric as a tenant of the city. Before long, a Wal-Mart Supercenter will be joining its ranks. We have the beautiful, state-of-the-art Muskego High School Performing Arts Center. We can go on and on.

But despite these and other developments taking shape, Muskego is in need of something else; something more. It needs a heart, a centralized location where people can gather for relaxation, recreation, entertainment, culture, and commerce. The Bring Back The Lake development project is it.

Why is it, you ask? Simple: Economic development. Possibilities. Opportunities.

If this project moves forward, not only will it finally spark the proper conditions necessary for a downtown environment and mindset for Muskego residents and merchants, but it will undoubtedly put the city back on the map once again, attracting visitors from other communities, and, along with them, their dollars. And residents of other communities are already taking notice.

In addition to being heavily involved in the community life of my hometown, I am also very active in neighboring Hales Corners, and some friends and business associates of mine in that great community are talking about this project. And if they're talking about it, I have no doubt that it's being discussed by people next door in Franklin and New Berlin, as well, and I'm even willing to bet there are a few people bringing it up in nearby Greenfield and Greendale.

All of these communities have great treasures. Hales Corners, for example, has Whitnall Park and Boerner Botanical Gardens. It is also home to an attractive county park with a pool, a pool now under the care of a non-profit organization, Friends of the Hales Corners Pool. Greendale, in addition to its many green spaces, has a beautiful downtown that is well-known for its eateries and specialty shops.

But all these communities, despite their many tremendous assets, lack something Muskego has: its lakes and beaches.

We can use this project to not only provide a beautiful, quality place for people to gather, for both residents and non-residents alike, but also to enhance our local economy. In a city where some 87.5% of the property tax burden rests on the shoulders of homeowners as this article is written, we need it.

Helpful resources on Muskego's Bring Back The Lake development project:

"City wants to bring back a better Muskego Beach," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 17, 2010.
"Beach plans: 'More than just a park'," Muskego NOW, April 19, 2010.
"Park investment won't spike city's debt payments," Muskego NOW, May 4, 2010.
Conceptual site plan, alternative one
Conceptual site plan, alternative two
Muskego and the original Muskego Beach Amusement Park the subject of a Wikipedia article