The Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, commonly called the Domes, is perhaps the most debated of Milwaukee County’s assets.
The three bee-hive shaped glass structures have deteriorated and some people want to see them restored, others say replace them.
In the meantime, how to fund either option remains unclear.
At a county parks and culture committee meeting Tuesday, chairman Sheldon Wasserman called for a speedy but complete exploration of options for the Domes' future. He wants a full report within seven months.
“The reason why the July cycle is so critical is the budget is going to be coming up in the fall. And if we can have some budget recommendations, we will move the entire Domes project forward,” Wasserman says. “Time is really becoming of the essence. We are letting this thing fall apart by benign neglect.”
Committee member Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez represents the Mitchell Park neighborhood.
He wants an explicit message to be added to the resolution, “Saying that doing nothing in tantamount to demolition by neglect,” Martinez says.
Supervisor Dyango Zerpa called for adding “a little more teeth” to the proposal. “To create some more stringent guidelines on how the administration presents these reports to make sure they use proper authorities who have the expertise in this complicated field. So that we as policymakers get the most accurate information possible so we can move forward right away,” Zerpa says.
Chairman Wasserman says he will work with both Zerpa and Martinez. “We want to see it,” he said emphatically.
The atmosphere shifted when the topic turned to possible historic designation.
Here’s the back story.
At its November meeting, the parks committee considered overriding County Executive David Crowley’s veto that put a stop to applying for National Register of Historic Places status for the Domes. Advocates said designation offered the potential of historic tax credits to help fund the structures costly rehabilitation.
READ What! Still no plan for the future of the Mitchell Park Domes?
At that meeting County corporation counsel Margaret C. Daun advised against overturning the Coungy Exectuive's veto.
“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 effectively approval by both state and federal government,” Daun said in November.
The full county board subsequently abstained from voting on the issue, leaving the historic designation issue in limbo.
Then just few days ago, on Dec. 1, Daun informed the parks and culture committee her team had gathered further clarifications, including from Chris Cody, associate general counsel of the National Trust for Historic Places.
Cody attended Tuesday’s parks committee meeting virtually, saying his institution is far from all-powerful.
“The National Trust engages in consultations all the time where unfortunate actions like demolition are impossible to avoid, and then those conversations become around the minimization of those adverse effects. Again, it’s not a review process where anyone can ever weigh no. Very often, these consultations are incredibly productive and add value,” Cody says. “Regardless of what the ultimate action will be, just by taking the time and talking with the experts.”
Corporate counsel Daun acknowledged Cody’s expertise. “Whom I personally reached out to access expertise in this very nuanced area of law," Daun says.
But Daun remained firm in her stance—going down the road to historic designation could lead to undesirable consequences.
“The statute and regulations in the state of Wisconsin are simply silent as to what happens when there is not agreement reached after consultation,” Daun says.
Chris Cody responded, saying unless the National Trust’s authority is spelled out in state statute, “There is no authority, and hence why it does not take any decision-making authority away from the property owners.”
In just a few days, the full board will take up the Domes resolution proposed by Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman.
Community members continue to chime in. Six hundred emails filled supervisors mailboxes this week in support of restoring the much-beloved, much-debated structures.
The parks committee has just a few days to modify the resolution before it’s taken up by the full board next week.
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