Guest speaker, Cathy Stepp, is the newly appointed secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Stepp notes her administration is concentrating on improving DNR’s customer relations and streamlining and simplifying permitting to accomplish Gov. Scott Walker’s goals to create jobs in the state. She notes that job creation and environmental protection are mutually supportive.

Light refreshments will be served at 5 p.m. with coffee and cake at the conclusion of the meeting at about 7 p.m. The business meeting will begin around 6 p.m. Parking and attendance at the meeting are free of charge. A cash bar will be available.

The annual meeting is open to the public and we encourage all friends, members, Park enthusiasts, and interested persons to attend to invite your friends.

People's Choice Award Winning Rain Barrel

Jen Arpin was selected as the People’s Choice Award Winner for her rain barrel at the 2011 Gatheirng Waters Festival.

1^st Place – Beth Leedum
2^nd Place – Mike Cashman
3^rd Place – R. Kodrich
4^th Place – Brian Helme

Superior Design-Build - Nick Kerschner, Deric Wallace, Devin White, Logan Vogt, Anna Briamis, Steve Panaro, Quinn Franklin, Dom Deligio, Chris Strammer, Jake Rice, Adam Wetzel

The original plans for Lakeshore State Park called for a visitor center to be built on the park at a time when funds are able to be raised to pay for the development of the facility. The visitor center would include, offices for the Park Manager and staff, public restrooms, drinking fountains, a meeting/lecture facility, exhibit space, and accommodations for boaters using the boat slips in the park’s docks.

Hybrid Development - Kyle Wallenfang, Justin Odders, Andrew Hanna,Tara O'Toole, Gustavo Alanis, Devin Sherman, Angela Ahlbrecht, Tony Marzetta, Trevor Scholtens, Noah Emmerling

For the past year three teams of MSOE students taking part in their senior design course, taught by professor Dr. Matthew Trussoni – Assistant Professor of Architectural Engineering and Building Construction and a contributor to UrbanMilwaukee.com, have been working with the Friends of Lakeshore State Park, to develop conceptual designs for the interpretive center. The teams were charged with designing a a small, environmentally sustainable building that could be built for under $3 million. Additional requirements included achieving LEED Platinum Certification, meeting the Living Building standard, and creating an outdoor seating area to allow for group events. It was also important that the designs produced an aesthetically pleasing building that didn’t detract from its environment while utilizing the views of the lake and downtown Milwaukee.

Leiap Development - Matt Olsen, Jimmy Ahern, Matt Bennett, Kevin Johnson, Brandin Keltner, Tristan Kowalski, Carrie Strehlow, Jacob Reis, Andy Brophy, Josh Halvorsen

Each team produced designs that both met the aesthetic requirements and offered their own solutions to the environmental requirements. For example, the design by the team Superior Vision included a green roof that would be accessible to the public, and would create a unique sense of place while offering the public a new vantage point to see the city. Another team, Hybrid Development’s, proposal featured a large solar panel facility that although somewhat unusual could of acted as an educational opportunity. Team Leiap’s design included rain gardens and a deck system that attempted to create a gathering place. And all of the teams utilized a mixture of green technologies and concepts such as solar panels, gray-water systems, geo-thermal systems, day-lighting and other features as part of the designs. In additional to architectural designs the students put together construction documents, models and renderings, conducted sun studies, researched green technologies, and presented to a board for review.

Although, these are simply conceptual plans of what could become a new facility on Lakeshore State Park, they do offer possibilities and direction for what might be built.

This article originally ran on UrbanMilwaukee.com

Chuck Ward Co-Founder, Friends of Lakeshore State Park

Over nearly three decades, Chuck Ward helped to shape some of Milwaukee’s prominent civic institutions: Irish Fest, the Milwaukee Brewers, Summerfest, Discovery World and, most recently, Milwaukee County Parks. Chuck was the founder and first president of the Friends of Lakeshore State Park. Chuck passed away on November 5, 2010 at the age of 54 after a courageous two and a half year battle with cancer. The Friends of Lakeshore State Park’s board members will miss his wit, his caring and his willingness to be there whenever the board needed him.

A post on a message board at liamclancy.com said it best, “For anyone who attended Milwaukee Irish Fest regularly, you couldn’t have missed Chuck Ward on the Miller Stage as a member of Blarney. Possessed of a booming voice and a cheerful and hilarious stage presence, Chuck and his band-mates led off every Irish Fest as the first act of the weekend. As a musician, he enthusiastically carried on the Irish song tradition of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. As an organizer, hbiggest and best Irish music festival in the United States.