Determination Evident As Oak Creek Maps Out Lakefront Future

"Oak Creek has plenty of business opportunities - leave this as natural as possible."

"Anything that will not affect taxpayers."

"Make the lakefront a shopping and entertainment 'hub.'"

The ideas on how to shape the Oak Creek lakefront ran the gamut during Thursday.

It was clear that residents possess a diverse range of opinions, which were written out on giant-sized notepads throughout the room.

And during the course of several hours of questions-and-answers, slideshows and displays, another fact became clearer than Lake Michigan water on a sunny, summer day:

Despite years of struggle with virtually nothing to show for it, Oak Creek has never been more determined to get something accomplished on the lakefront than it is now.

City Attorney Larry Haskin made that abundantly clear at the end of his presentation Thursday night, saying that if residents take anything away from the day's events, it's that, "This is going to happen."

What that "is" is still years away, but yesterday's events were the first of three sessions the city is planning in order to get public feedback. One event was an open house of sorts, in which residents could ask questions and learn about the city's efforts and history of the area; the other was a presentation followed by more one-on-one opportunities between residents and officials.

Just before attendees began drawing out their ideas on maps and talking to local officials, Haskin assured that what they were doing was "not an exercise to put a plan on a shelf."

It was an interesting line that was, more or less, a response to what's becoming a growing criticism among some in Oak Creek - that the city commissions studies on various topics (a new fire station, a new City Hall/library) but then does nothing when the study is completed.

Fair criticism or not, Haskin and others maintain that won't be the case here. To further make that point, Haskin unveiled a timeline for the next few years on the lakefront.

Notably, the city laid out its plans on the acquisition of lakefront properties (the biggest piece by July, another by mid-2012) and said the planning of a park will begin later this year. 

One of the themes among residents Thursday was that at least some of the 250 acres east of Fifth Avenue should remain park space. To that end, Oak Creek officials are planning the construction of a park along the shoreline to take place in 2012-13 and tie in with Bender Park, just to the south.

The park will be just one small piece of a big redevelopment project, happening on one of the few parcels of Lake Michigan shoreline in southern Wisconsin still undeveloped.

Residents and city officials clearly don't want to keep it that way. Thursday was one, albeit small, step toward change.