I’m writing  to ask you to vote “No” on the proposed sale of the “Pieces of Eight” property to UWM for their School of Freshwater Sciences and offices of the business-led Water Council.

I attended the hearing and was impressed with the number of other community members who are opposed to this and support the continued use of the lakefront for public use.

The proposal ignores the public doctrine and puts business use ahead of public use.

It defies the 1994 City-County lakefront plan, which calls for complete public access, including visual access, for the entire downtown lakefront. Our public lakefront is one of the things that makes Milwaukee great

It is a bad idea for the Harbor Commission to sell the public’s land for a private/public venture that has barely had an airing. Something this significant should not be decided after one poorly-noticed and attended hearing. Along with the city’s efforts to privatize water, this is a slap in the face. The Water Council is made up of people who are looking for their business interests, including Badger Meter’s CEO Meeusen who is on record for wanting to ship jobs out of the country. This is an economic and social justice issue.