The Common Council is scheduled next week to consider and possibly approve spending up to $690,000 on a project to repair the stadium's playing surface, which was destroyed by August flooding.
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.
Because work had not yet begun on the memorial, no materials were lost, but when the floodwater subsided, the memorial committee conferred with city officials and decided Hart Park would no longer be a suitable location.
City leaders have a limited number of options for how to pay the cost of unreimbursed repairs, almost all of the options involving direct or indirect taxpayer support.
Several communities in the region, including Wauwatosa, had been waiting for the update before proceeding with repairs to their flood-damaged publicly owned properties.
The city was able to identify just enough space outside of the flood plain and south of the parking lot to fit two single-occupancy restrooms, though installation is at least nine months off.
It's been an interesting summer for weather in and around Wauwatosa, even before the historic rain and flooding Aug. 9 and 10 that helped pushed the season into the record books.
