Some of the worst damage to public infrastructure in Wauwatosa from the August flooding happened in Hart Park, but as the city plans for repairs to its recreational facilities, it has a clear list of priorities.
Restoring the park's softball field appears to be at the bottom of that list.
The city has estimated that repairs to the Muellner Building, the football stadium, the parking lot access on 72nd Street and the playground will end up costing millions of dollars, some of it covered by insurance. With federal and state aid still up in the air, much of that work is on hold to ensure the city remains eligible for reimbursement, though most of the projects are expected to move forward eventually.
The senior center in the Muellner Building already has reopened, and once funding questions are resolved, the city plans to begin work on the football stadium and then move to playground repairs, Alex Krutsch, the parks and forestry superintendent, told the Board of Park and Forestry Commissioners at its Nov. 18 meeting.
The fate of the softball field, however, remain much in doubt. Those repairs might not happen "for quite some time," Krutsch said. When questioned by a board member, he added that the city has not decided yet if the softball field will be rebuilt at all.
Much of the uncertainty stems from the Trump administration's October denial of Wisconsin's request for federal assistance to cover flood damage to publicly owned properties like Hart Park from the widespread flooding in the Milwaukee area. The state has appealed that decision. Without federal aid, Wauwatosa might qualify for some state disaster aid.
Wauwatosa officials initially estimated the flooding had caused as much as $9 million in damage to city-owned property. After further inspections, insurance reimbursements and a generous $1 million donation, city officials now estimate that Tosa’s unreimbursed cost of those repairs still could rise as high as $2 million.
And without state or federal aid, that cost would be born by city taxpayers, either through a one-time tax levy increase, use of a portion of the city's cash reserves or a combination of those two options.
Or, the city could reduce its costs by deciding not to repair and rebuild everything that was damaged by the floodwaters. That has left the softball field in limbo for now. Krutch did not specify how much the city expects field repairs to cost.
When torrential rains struck Aug. 9 and 10, the Menomonee River overflowed its banks as it passed through Tosa Village, overwhelming much of Hart Park. The park had been designed to take on water in flood events, minimizing the risk of flood damage to nearby homes and businesses, but the rush of floodwater across the facilities wrecked Hart Park's softball diamond while bending its backstop.
The damage will not affect the Tosa East High School softball team, which plays its home games at the Longfellow Middle School field. It could disrupt the plans of recreational softball leagues that have played at Hart Park in the past, including the Wauwatosa School District Recreation Department.
Krutsch and Public Works Director David Simpson told the parks board that city officials will rely partly on the Tosa's Parks and Open Space Plan to determine what types of recreational facilities are most in need of the city's investment. That might mean a new softball field, or officials could seek public input on what else they would like to see built there at Hart Park.
