Old Bus Station Repairs Could Be Targeted for Cuts

The old bus station in downtown Waukesha by the Fox River is home to the every summer. Farmers bring their fresh produce while hundreds of people walk through the quaint area.

But, the quality of the pillared structure isn’t exactly charming.  It’s falling apart and it’s dangerous, according to Director of Public Works Fred Abadi. One light fixture already has fallen down and the entire roof needs to be repaired.

“Our assessment was that it was not safe,” Abadi said.

At a price tag of $30,000 paid through from borrowing, Alderman Andy Reiland said he wants to see that cut from the budget.

“I know there is no immediate effect,” said Reiland about the 2012 budget. “… By cutting the CIP budget by $1 million, we save the city roughly $128,000 in annual costs.”

If the repairs are cut from the budget, Abadi said the unsafe structure would cost $15,000 to remove.

The Waukesha Finance Committee is reviewing the capital improvement budget tonight at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The aldermen will make their recommendations to the Common Council at 5 p.m. Tuesday.  While tonight’s meeting is the last scheduled Finance Committee meeting, aldermen may scheduled additional Finance Committee meetings because it is behind in budget review. It is likely another meeting will be scheduled for Wednesday.

While it’s not certain what the Finance Committee will decide about the old bus station, made it clear during the most recent Finance Committee meeting that he wants the bus station to remain in the budget.

Scrima noted that the city is paying off about $7 million in debt in 2012 while borrowing $5 million. The city is still $2 million ahead next year in terms of new debt, Scrima said.

“My opinion is that this structure should definitely be maintained,” Scrima said. “There are hundreds of thousands of people that enjoy it during our Farmers’ Markets. I think you would find the citizens would be quite upset if it was not maintained. It adds to the charm and the character of our downtown.”

Trying to find a compromise was Alderman Paul Ybarra, the Common Council president, who questioned if the unsafe light fixtures could be removed and the city hold off on repairing the structure another year.

City staff will do more research into the project. Although the building does not have landmarks status, Alderwoman Kathleen Cummings said she wanted to know more about the history of the structure, how much it cost in the first place and how it was funded.

“I just think we need a little more information,” Cummings said.