Waukesha - The Waukesha Common Council has stood its ground on an earlier decision to exclude Mayor Jeff Scrima or other elected officials from a team of city staff who will negotiate a water supply contract with Milwaukee, Oak Creek or Racine.
Last week, Scrima vetoed the team's make-up - Water Utility Manager Dan Duchniak, City Administrator Lori Curtis Luther and Community Development Director Steve Crandell. Scrima called for the addition of four others, including himself, an attorney for the city, the council president and a representative from the Town of Waukesha, so as to match Milwaukee's seven-member team.
The vote Tuesday night to override his veto was 11-3, one more than necessary. One alderman, Ald. Andy Reiland, who said in a letter that he supported the override, was absent. Voting to sustain the veto were aldermen Vance Skinner, Eric Payne and John Kalblinger. Ald. Roger Patton switched his vote to favor override.
Several aldermen noted the staff team could bring in other officials or experts as needed. Council President Paul Ybarra said that the council, including the mayor, will set negotiating boundaries and will approve the proposed agreement.
"The mayor and council will make every decision," he said.
Some aldermen questioned facetiously whether the city should outnumber Milwaukee's team, no matter what the number.
Skinner said he voted to sustain the veto out of respect for the mayor's office and respect for citizens. He asked Scrima whether he supported the city's application for Lake Michigan water.
Scrima said, "I fully understand and respect that the council wants to move the application forward" and said he supported the council's decision.
Waukesha is under a 2018 deadline to bring its water supply into compliance with federal standards for radium content. The city is asking Wisconsin and the seven other Great Lakes states to approve its request to buy Lake Michigan water. As outlined in an application now pending before the Department of Natural Resources, Waukesha would take water from Milwaukee, Oak Creek or Racine and then return it as treated wastewater through lake tributaries.
Eight years of study have concluded that Lake Michigan water is the least costly and most sustainable source of water. Waukesha gets its water from 500- to 600-foot-deep groundwater, a level that's dropping up to nine feet a year with increasing contamination.
Milwaukee is the preferred supplier based on its closer proximity and, at $164 million, its lower cost.
Waukesha is waiting for the DNR to find the application complete and to hold public hearings on it this summer. Should the DNR approve the application, Waukesha must have a purchase agreement with a supplier in hand before the request can be submitted to the other Great Lakes states for approval.
Scrima campaigned against the notion of getting water from Milwaukee last year. He has said he prefers alternate solutions, like shallow wells, continued treatment for radium, quarries and the Fox River, because they would keep Waukesha independent of Milwaukee.
In his veto message, Scrima said an agreement with Milwaukee would lead to future political battles and litigation.
About 60 people attended Tuesday's meeting and nearly half spoke. The majority applauded the mayor's veto and as several did, about two dozen audience members stood silently in support. A number expressed objections to any cooperation with Milwaukee.