Waukesha wants Haertel used as holding pond
ByOfficials with the Waukesha Youth Football League - an organization that runs popular tackle football programs for pre-high school athletes – are awaiting a meeting with Waukesha officials to discuss the future of one of its main facilities – Haertel Field, near Newhall Ave. and the Canadian National railroad tracks.
Fred Abadi, city director of public works, says the city wants to turn the northern part of Haertel Field into a detention pond to hold storm water that floods basements of nearby homes in the spring.
Last spring, one home suffered $150,000 in damage, Abadi said.
The city also wants to convert the existing football field into a spill-over basin for storm water that the detention pond could not hold.
To accomplish that, the bottom of large, six-foot-deep basin would become the new playing field, Abadi said.
Since the storm water problem happens in the spring, the field should be dry and available for the fall sport, he said.
The storm water issue is caused by the topography of the area. Storm sewers cannot handle the rush of water from the high grounds of Catholic Memorial and Waukesha South high school neighborhoods.
Storm water runs down College Ave. and collects at the rise at the Canadian National tracks that cross College at Maple Ave, forcing the water into the homes of adjacent basements, a perennial problem, Abadi said.
Storm water would be funneled away from the congestion point and sent into the basin, where it would evaporate or filter into the ground.
Ted Schneider, president of the YFL, said his group has used the Waukesha School District field for almost 20 years. The YFL recently spent $125,000 to build a second floor press box onto its equipment building, he said.
“We’re definitely concerned about what’s going on there,” he said of the proposal.
The concerned parties heard about the city’s proposal at a School Board committee meeting last week. The city was reminded that the property has a deed restriction that restricts its use to athletic activities.
Several years ago, plans to build affordable housing units there were killed because of the deed restrictions.
“What’s going to happen to the field?” Schneider asked during an interview.
The committee suggested that the city consider purchasing Haertel Field from the district. It also directed the city and YFL to conduct a meeting.
Abadi said a purchase was not in the plans.
Abadi said that using the field during the off season to hold stormwater does not alter, but simply modifies its use, he said.
The slope to get down to the field, which the city will rebuild with better drainage beneath it, will be gentle, he said.
Abadi called the city plan “a win-win” situation.
Don’t do it.
I have lived in one of the affected homes since 1973. Water and flooding were never a problem UNTIL ten years ago, when the City changed the grade of the road, and then five years ago the railroad changed the grade of the tracks and the cherry on this fiasco is the erection of the leased dormitory space last year which used 200 loads of fill to alter the drainage pattern of the area. A TIF area, it was meant to improve a blighted area; instead it has created one. The entire south side of College Avenue from Hinman to the CN tracks is a gigantic bowl for stormwater. My basement filled with water. Filled. My basement windows blew in from the water pressure. I had over four feet of water in my basement. I spent the night listening to my washer and dryer bumping up again my floor. My water heater was ruined. And tonight with temperatures in the 30s, I still do not have heat. We lost two cars and a motorcycle, lawnmowers, tools, clothes, papers and books. Not covered by insurance because we can’t get flood insurance…we’re not in a flood plain, even though we flood every year. EVERY YEAR. And we were told not to expect relief next year. It’s not in the budget. And yet there was money in the budget to redo Hinman Avenue, AGAIN. Why is that? This has been going on for TEN YEARS.
Three gigantic engineering failures and now they want to create a fourth? Why the heck not? The people proposing this fix are about the same age as me and before it actually becomes problematic, they’ll be long retired. We, on the other hand, will be living in uninhabitable houses that we cannot sell and we cannot rent. Haertel Field will be ruined, unplayable. And the City turns a blind eye. Why?
I’m not at all certain about how the storm sewers are laid out but the one in our alley is quickly over capacity. This is not weather related, because the same amount of water falls on the west side of the tracks on College Avenue and they aren’t flooded.
Why steal from the children of Waukesha? Haertel Field was designated FOR the children. The proposed project will ruin that field. No wonder the City wants to “lease” it. And if anyone doubts that it will be ruined, come walk in my yard…or try to. I can’t even mow it, and the lawn service that does mow has to cut it so high that it is a more frequent than normal expense. Come see the sidewalks that have drifted and sunk. Come see the slabs that have drifted away from the foundation of the house. In the winter my yard fills with water and the sidewalks become impassible.
As I said, I’ve been here 36 years. I know the history. And there must be a heck of a lot of bad planning and engineering in this City… how many retention ponds are being proposed anyway, citywide?
Anyone who has bought a home in this area that has been flooded in the last ten years really needs to get a lawyer and sue the real estate agent and previous owner(s). It’s called non-disclosure not to make aware to a purchaser of flooding conditions. It’s fraud.
I especially had to laugh out loud at the quote from Mr Abadi that one home suffered $150,000 damage…yes? and what did the City do? I can tell you: NOTHING. That is because they accept no liability for the present situation. I don’t think it will be difficult to prove otherwise. Water doesn’t flow uphill.
and isn’t it amazing how all of this is off the radar….shh. maybe we’ll go away.