This is a historical society in my area that is now going up against a mayor that was tossed out of that same society 20 yrs ago for some very bad business dealings. I just had to share this with you all because this poor historical site is in danger of loosing it's biggest fund raiser in July, a time line event that we particpate in. All because this new mayor closed the site down only hours of his oath of office. It seems to me and allot of others this is truely a personal vendeta, since there is allot more pressing things then closing down a historical village that has gotten no help from the city. This mayor is also making it hard for another living history event to get it's permits. Sounds like this guy has nothing better to do with his time.
Jenna
Shutdown in Muskego revives dispute
Historical society calls act vengeful
By SCOTT WILLIAMS
swilliams@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 28, 2005
Muskego - Twenty years ago, Charles Damaske parted ways with colleagues at the Muskego Historical Society in a bitter dispute that left him banished from the group.
Muskego Dispute
Opinions
Foes say: Vendetta
He says: Nonsense
One day after Damaske took the oath of office April 19 as Muskego's new mayor, his personal secretary from City Hall asked historical society members for keys to their headquarters.
On Thursday, a city inspector ordered the property shut down, saying it was structurally unsafe.
Damaske denies any political motives, saying that the city-owned Old Muskego Settlement Centre has been neglected for years and needs thousands of dollars in repairs before it can be reopened.
But members of the historical society believe the new mayor is trying to punish his former adversaries with a game of political revenge that has been 20 years in the making.
"He has a vendetta," said board member Jane Mundro, who says the mayor's secretary approached her April 20 to request keys to the society's headquarters.
"He wants to take it all away from the society," Mundro said. "And he's mayor. Doesn't he have better things to do?"
Damaske said Thursday that his past disagreements with leaders of the historical society are not an issue.
"That's all nonsense," he said.
Longstanding building problems
He said the previous city administration under Mayor Mark Slocomb had urged the historical society to stop using facilities that were in disrepair, but never took stronger action. City taxpayers could be facing significant repair costs, he said, adding that the historical society might be asked to pay some or all of the cost.
Asked what made the situation such a high priority that he acted on it during his first days in office, the mayor said: "I don't know if it's high. It's something that needs to be looked at."
Although the city owns the Old Muskego Settlement Centre, the complex of historic structures has been operated and maintained by the historical society for many years.
The two sides have been unable to agree how to address needed repairs, with the city saying the historical society never submitted a meaningful plan and the historical society saying the city lost interest and would not commit funds.
The three-acre complex located near City Hall on Racine Ave. includes a one-room schoolhouse, log cabin, barn and other early Muskego structures that are used to teach visitors about the community's history.
Sean McMullen, the city's director of building and engineering, said city officials have been concerned about the property's condition for years. Immediately after becoming mayor, Damaske asked staffers to arrange a tour of the property.
The tour took place Monday, McMullen said, saying that it revealed displaced structural beams, crumbling roofs, wildlife infestation and other problems in all of the buildings.
"They're in extremely rough shape," he said.
The city posted signs on the property Thursday announcing that the buildings were structurally unsafe and that they would remain closed until repairs are completed.
McMullen said the city already is developing cost estimates for repairs, and it could be only a matter of weeks before the property is reopened if funds are available.
He said he did not believe any political motives were at work, noting that the final decision to close the property was his - not Damaske's.
"This didn't have anything to do with the mayor," he said.
Feud dating to 1980s
For some, however, the episode is reopening wounds that had been closed since the 1980s.
Damaske, who helped start the historical society in the 1970s, was a leader of the organization until allegations of mismanagement within the group led to a power struggle and Damaske's ouster in 1985.
The two sides exchanged civil lawsuits - each saying it was owed money - before the dispute was settled out of court.
Damaske, a longtime Muskego-Norway School Board member, served many more years in that position and also served briefly as city alderman before deciding to run for mayor this year.
After a heated campaign in which opponents tried to make an issue of Damaske's past historical society battle, voters on April 5 gave the challenger a narrow victory over Slocomb, a first-term incumbent.
Ald. Bob Melcher, who is the Common Council's liaison to the historical society, said Thursday that he was surprised to learn that city inspectors had taken action against the historical society property.
Melcher said that while the city had been trying to work out issues with the group for many years, there had not been any recent talk among aldermen of shutting the place down.
He said he learned about the move Thursday afternoon in a telephone conversation with Damaske.
"There's a problem, I guess, with cooperation," Melcher said, referring to the historical society's inability to meet city expectations for maintenance of the property.
The alderman declined to comment on the society's allegations of political revenge.
Mundro said the group's leadership and membership include many of the same people who were involved in the power struggle with Damaske in the 1980s.
The city owns the land and buildings, she said, but all of the historical exhibits and artifacts belong to the society. She voiced concern about what would happen if Damaske got control of the whole operation.
"I shudder to think," she said.
Don Pionek, a former city alderman who has joined the historical society to lead efforts at restoring the property, said the issue of repairs has been a sticking point with the city for years.
The city has raised concerns before that parts of the complex were structurally unsound, Pionek said, but he was surprised to hear that an inspector had ordered the property closed.
He voiced suspicion that past conflicts between the society and the new mayor are flaring up again.
"I don't think there's any love between the two," he said. "In fact, I'm pretty sure about that."
From the April 29, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Have an opinion on this story? Write a letter to the editor or start an online forum.
************************************************** ********
Shutting the door on history?
As closure is debated, studying Muskego lore faces uncertain future
By SCOTT WILLIAMS
swilliams@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 3, 2005
Muskego - In the one-room schoolhouse, tiny desks are neatly arranged, with books and chalkboards waiting for students in a 19th-century scene worthy of a Charles Dickens novel.
But a nearby barn is cluttered with unsightly boxes of materials. Electrical wiring hangs down precariously, and the roof is propped up on old telephone poles.
The complex of buildings that the Muskego Historical Society calls home is a mix of priceless artifacts and dilapidated eyesores.
Located in a highly visible spot along Racine Ave., the 3-acre compound known as the Old Muskego Settlement Centre has aroused concern from city building inspectors and put the historical society in limbo.
Some members of the organization say politics is motivating new Mayor Charles Damaske, who had a falling-out with the group long ago and took action against them immediately after taking office.
But city officials are working to build a case that the society's operation on city-owned property is a public hazard that has been ignored or neglected for years.
As the two sides wrangle over last week's city action declaring Old Muskego Settlement Centre unsafe and ordering it closed, some in the community are starting to wonder if their opportunity to study local history is itself history.
At Country Meadows Elementary School, about 60 third-graders are waiting to hear whether a field trip to the Settlement Centre this month will have to be canceled.
Brad Harford, principal of the school, said the city's action has raised questions about whether the historical society's facilities will be available - and safe.
"I wouldn't want to have the kids get there and find out the field trip isn't going to be successful," Harford said, adding that past student trips to the historical society have been fun and educational. "It would be sad not to have some kind of connection with the history of the community."
Who should pay?
Sean McMullen, the city's director of building and engineering, said he is developing cost estimates to present to aldermen so they can decide whether the city will make the needed building repairs or push the historical society to do it.
The society has been a tenant on the city-owned property for many years, in an agreement that requires the group to provide basic maintenance.
If the funding is available, McMullen said, some of the buildings could be reopened to the public soon, while others needing significant work could take several months - or simply be bulldozed.
Members of the historical society were stunned to learn that the city had ordered the entire eight-building complex shut down, McMullen said.
"They thought it was a political move by the new mayor. And that had nothing to do with it," he said.
Damaske, who took office April 19, has denied any ulterior motives for cracking down on the historical society so soon after taking office. His personal secretary at City Hall approached members of the group April 20 to request keys to the Settlement Centre.
Some members of the group contend that the mayor, a founding member of the historical society, is seeking revenge because he was banished from the group in the mid-1980s in a bitter power struggle.
A city inspector on Thursday ordered the Settlement Centre closed, marking each building with a red sign declaring it unsafe for inhabitants.
Ronald Peters, president of the society, said he acknowledges that some of the buildings need repairs. But the barn and other structures in particularly bad condition have not been open to the public, he said.
Peters said he would not question the mayor's motives..
"I was a little surprised that such drastic steps were taken," he said of the shutdown. "Why it was handled that way, I don't know."
City officials contend that the condition of the Settlement Centre has been a problem for many years but that the prior administration under Mayor Mark Slocomb was unwilling to take action.
McMullen provided a tour of the property this week and pointed to areas where the city believes roof supports are inadequate, ceilings have leaked and allowed mold to grow, foundations have cracked, and raccoons and other wildlife have infested the property.
'Political hot potato'
McMullen said inspectors tried to push the issue in years past, but Slocomb showed no interest in forcing the historical society to upgrade the property.
"It was becoming a political hot potato," McMullen said.
Slocomb, who lost a narrow April 5 election to Damaske, did not respond to requests for comment.
City officials this week released inspection reports from August 2003 and November 2004 showing that the city and fire department had cited deficiencies on the historical society grounds long before Damaske took office.
Those reports involve relatively minor problems, such as missing fire extinguishers, or areas of the compound that have not been open to the public for many years.
Peters said some of the specific concerns now being raised by the city have been raised before and have developed because of the city's unwillingness to invest in needed improvements to the property.
After the city in 2002 agreed to move and renovate the old Town Hall as a new addition to the Settlement Centre, costs associated with the project climbed from about $150,000 to more than $350,000.
In addition to the one-room schoolhouse, the complex includes an old church, log cabin and other facilities designed to showcase Muskego during the community's early years.
Aldermen are voicing a desire to see the dispute resolved, although they also support Damaske for taking action.
Ald. Nancy Salentine said growing pressure over the escalating costs of the Town Hall relocation might have made Slocomb reluctant to confront problems with other historical society facilities.
Salentine discounted accusations that Damaske was playing politics with the situation.
"I still don't believe that," she said. "I think that was a knee-jerk reaction."
From the May 4, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
************************************************** ********
CivilWarTalk.com -
A free and friendly Civil War community. 
Small town historical society vs. new mayor 
Linear Mode
