Alderman Joe Davis, Sr. and Alderman Jim Bohl are holding a Neighborhood Meeting on Thursday, December 17th from 7:00-8:30 PM at the Grantosa Elementary School to discuss a proposal to consolidate the Capitol Drive and Mill Road branch libraries into a regional library to be located at the former Kohl's location at W. Hampton Ave. and W. Appleton Ave.
Earlier this year the library board held meetings about possible plans for the future of the library system and its several branch locations.
Also earlier this year, the community development department of the city of Milwaukee held several hearing sessions for the West Side Plan for development in a large portion of the west side of Milwaukee. The West Side Plan is one of about a dozen such plans for different parts of the city.
One of the areas of interest to the Hawkeyes Neighborhood Watch area was the former Kohl's location at Hampton and Appleton. It appears one of the first things to develop is the proposal to consolidate two branch library locations into a regional library to be located in this area.
The aldermen sent a mailer about the meeting, and they want to give residents the opportunity to express opinions and/or concerns regarding this proposal.
I went to several of the meetings for the West Side Plan, which just recently was approved by the city council. I also attended a meeting at the Capitol Drive library regarding the future of the library. There are many out there with opinions and concerns over the future of the library system, and also many with ideas for the development of the former Kohl's location, which is real close to the Hawkeye's area.
This is a big opportunity to meet with the two local aldermen. The former Kohl's location is in Alderman Davis's 2nd district, but Alderman Bohl's 5th district starts just across street, and includes the Hawkeyes neighborhood.
In the long run, the library is facing a lot of expense in modernizing the current Capitol Drive location, and don't have a lot of room for expansion in the current location. The Mill Road branch is the only location in a large section on the northwest side of Milwaukee. There is a large largely vacant and under developed property in the former Kohl's location. Our neighborhood could definitely benefit with the library in this location, although other neighborhoods may well have other views.
