Franklin’s 5th District Aldermanic Candidate Says “System is broken”
- riverafordistrict5
- Mar 1, 2022
- 2 min read
March 1st, 2022, Franklin, WI– In typical form of a dysfunctional city process, on February 17th the Franklin Plan Commission ignored the Judge’s orders explicitly explaining why this new Public Hearing was required. Not only did they again violate the due process rights of their own citizens, but they also voted 4-1 to approve the development and site plan, without an applicant.
This move appears to have left many citizens with a sense of disappointment in their elected and appointed officials that seems to have become the status quo in Franklin politics. During the meeting, several citizens called for the Mayor and Ald. Hannemann to recuse themselves and resign. Another citizen spoke of his lawsuit to get records “due to him (sic)” and said, “maybe it’s time for a recall.”
Aldermanic candidate Marcelino Rivera III stated that on September 13th, 2020, he asked Franklin’s Mayor, Steve Olson (via the Nextdoor app) to provide required studies under State and local laws supporting Strauss’ application. To date, there has not been a single formal impact study provided by Strauss or required by the City of Franklin to satisfy the “substantial evidence” requirements showing the development wouldn’t cause undue adverse impact as specified in § 15-3.0701 (General Standards for Special Uses). Rivera added, “The failure of our elected and appointed officials to follow the UDO is just the beginning of many increasingly problematic issues”
Rivera says the more he sought out information on this development, the greater the pushback he received from his now-aldermanic opponent and the mayor, but also several of their appointees to city boards. He learned first-hand of the severe lack of transparency from city officials, and their unwillingness to fulfill open records requests which has already resulted in several lawsuits from other citizens.
As a Franklin 5th District Aldermanic candidate and former Executive Director for Franklin Community Advocates, Rivera states “I’ve heard from numerous citizens regarding their outrage, frustration and disappointment in the City’s broken processes. Developers have also been vocal about challenges in moving projects forward in Franklin.
Rivera, agrees with Franklin Community Advocates recent press release on the Public Hearing summation, which points out how a broken system is failing our community. “I know we can do better for our community and its citizens and welcome developers with clearly defined processes built on a foundation of Quality, Integrity and the Community in mind”, Rivera stated.
The Common Council will vote tonight, March 1st, 2022, on whether to approve this development absent an applicant. Rivera said, “It is important for Franklin citizens to keep their eyes on what their elected officials have to say and how they will vote on this and other critical issues.”
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