Judge refuses to halt Town of Brookfield incorporation process

June 27, 2012

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By Laurel Walker of the Journal Sentinel

June 27, 2012 0

Waukesha - Waukesha County Circuit Judge Donald J. Hassin Jr. Wednesday refused to halt proceedings in the Town of Brookfield incorporation attempt, a delay sought by the Town of Waukesha, which has two appeals on the matter pending.

Hassin said a successful appeal was unlikely and the Town of Waukesha could always seek another delay in the future if necessary.

Town of Brookfield Attorney James Hammes said an order temporarily halting judicial and administrative proceedings is already in place by agreement of the Town and City of Brookfield, the City of Waukesha and the Village of Sussex. Those municipalities earlier requested the delay so they could participate in mediation sessions related to the incorporation request.

That stay was set to expire June 30, but it has been extended because the municipalities agreed to schedule additional mediation sessions Aug. 7 and Aug. 23, Hammes said. One has been held so far.

The Town of Waukesha was asked to join in mediation but refused.

The Town of Brookfield is seeking to incorporate a 4.2-square-mile area - including 288 acres now in the Town of Waukesha - as a village. The area is centered near Goerkes Corners, where I-94 and Highway 18 meet and where a new residential and retail development anchored by a Von Maur department store is located.

The Town of Waukesha is appealing two orders issued by Hassin.

In one, he ruled the Town of Brookfield's incorporation petition was in order and could be forwarded to the state Incorporation Review Board for consideration. In the other, he dismissed the Town of Waukesha as a party in the case, determining that it failed to provide adequate proof within the court-ordered timeline that the Town Board had authorized legal intervention in the case.

Eventually, the Department of Administration's Incorporation Review Board will schedule a public hearing on the incorporation petition. If it recommends incorporation, Hassin will be asked to schedule a referendum for voters in the affected area.

About Laurel Walker

Laurel Walker covered local, school and county government for 20 years -- the last half of that at the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -- before she was named Waukesha County columnist in 1997. Today she writes about the people, places and events around metropolitan Milwaukee with a broad suburban focus. She was the youngest of nine children raised on a central Wisconsin farm before leaving the nest for journalism studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a masters degree at the University of Oregon. She has spent the last half of her life in Waukesha County, where she and her husband raised two sons. Though she has a fondness for life in Waukesha, she eagerly partakes in the culture of the big city to the east and the recreation of the forests to the west. With sons in the arts, she has a special fondness for symphonic music concerts and art museums. She finds peace in a good book at a Northwoods getaway weekend, adventure in family visits to the east and west coasts, and satisfaction in a column well-written that reaches readers.