To say the future of the Mitchell Park Domes is uncertain seems almost hopeful when considering the most recent turn of events in Milwaukee county government.
Back in 2013, bits of concrete fell from one of the Mitchell Park Domes' ceilings, further escalating concern about the unique bee-hive shaped glass structures and the collection of plants and trees they house.
Some people keen on historic preservation are advocating to restore the Domes. Others wonder whether demolition and replacement with other structures is the best option.
In early September an effort failed to tap into some of the county’s federal ARPA dollars.
READ Milwaukee County task force says no to allocating ARPA dollars to rehab The Domes
A few weeks later, advocates thought they gained a foothold on the Domes’ restoration.
That was when the county parks committee, followed by the full County Board approved moving forward to apply for National Register of Historic Places status for the Domes.
READ Milwaukee Domes move step closer to historic status, despite uncertain future
That designation could open the door to possible historic tax credits to help shore up the structures.
Yet, County Executive David Crowley vetoed efforts to proceed with the nomination plan.
The county's corporation counsel, Margaret C. Daun, told the parks committee Thursday morning why the county executive's veto was the right move.
“It is my understanding that when this item was heard previously by this committee, that this committee was effectively given a false impression about the consequences of historical designation. If you have not read the option attached to the veto, I will quote from it very briefly where we say very clearly, if the Domes were to be listed on the state and/or national register of historic places, any alteration of the Domes would be subject to review and affectively approval by both state and federal government,” Daun said.
Committee member Supervisor Steve Taylor reacted with outrage.
“You’re telling me everybody that was in the room totally misrepresented the facts, that they were lying to us. I mean, we had staff in here. My understanding, we slap the historic designation on there, we could still rip the darn thing down if we wanted to,” Taylor said.
That’s incorrect, Daun responded, “There is oversight by both the state and federal government – period, full stop."
Jeremy Ebersole, executive director of the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance sought to reassure committee members, the county’s hands would not be tied if they moved forward with national historic designation.
"It is the case that the state historic preservation office and the national park service approve the nomination of listing the building on the national register," Ebersole said. "Once the building is listed on the national register, there are conversations that would happen between the state historic preservation office and the county. However, the state does not have regulatory authority in those consultations, so in other words, the state historic preservation office does not have the authority to stop any action that the county would want to take."
The committee unanimously voted to override the County Executive's veto.
Ten hours later, in the throes of the full county board’s marathon budget adoption meeting, committee members sang a slightly altered tune, including Supervisor Taylor.
“There’s one thing I don’t want to do, I don’t want to tear those buildings down. I think they’re iconic, but I also know that spending $70, $80, $90 million for a system that didn’t work, that’s not really a solution either. So what could it be? Could it be that we are building a brand new facility and reimagining Mitchell Park,” Taylor said.
And Sheldon Wasserman who chairs the parks committee, “We’re in a difficult spot because we were put in a spot not because of what we did. We had a hearing, we were presented data, we asked about the data, we asked about who was giving up the data, we asked for information given to us and we were misled. We’re really at a loss,” Wasserman said.
Wasserman then asked for a brief recess. When the board reconvened, there was no further discussion.
The entire body abstained from voting, leaving the possibility of historic preservation in limbo. Meanwhile, deliberations about what to do about the Domes continue.
On Dec. 6 the parks committee chair plans to introduce a resolution directing the parks department to develop clear options including price tags for options ranging from restoration to demolition.
The committee successfully negotiated a $288,000 budget amendment Thursday to underwrite the process. The committee said it wants all options to be on the table by next July.
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