The Milwaukee Common Council voted this morning against granting $41 million in taxpayer subsidies for the PabstCity redevelopment project on the western edge of downtown Milwaukee. The subsidies would have included a $39 million tax incremental financing (TIF) district and $2 million in funding for administration and training. The council voted, 9-6, against creating the TIF district.

Ald. Robert Donovan, who said at the meeting that he would have voted for the project three weeks ago, said he changed his mind because of overwhelming feedback from his constituents. He also said Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG), a conservative local activist group, had distributed his cell phone number to constituents, who flooded him with calls opposed to the project. "Thanks go to CRG," Donovan said. "Because of their hard work, all of my constituents have my cell phone. It's not my job to educate my constituents. It's my job to represent my constituents. I may have erred today, but I feel most comfortable to err on the side of the little guy."

The council's vote was the first major political defeat for Tom Barrett as mayor of Milwaukee, and he expressed his anger about the decision today.

Barrett compared PabstCity to the Park East and Menomonee Valley developments in Milwaukee, saying that millions of dollars in subsidies had been spent at those sites with relatively little public resistance.

"Apparently the sin we committed (at PabstCity) was we got tenants lined up, and those tenants scared people," Barrett. "Apparently you can't say who's going to be coming, or some people will get terrified that they'll have some competition, and they'll do everything they can to stop it.

"I think you had developers (at PabstCity) who really believed in the city. For years, I have said that the City of Milwaukee is open for business, and the 1,000 jobs that would have been created were good jobs. You have tens of thousands of people in Milwaukee who need these jobs, but you get lots of cozy people who have jobs that say, 'It doesn't affect me, it doesn't affect me,' who duck and run when they think it might me flawed."

Juneau Avenue Partners LLC had proposed the $317 million redevelopment of the former Pabst Brewing Co. headquarters near North 8th Street and Juneau Avenue. The partners in the proposed project included Wispark LLC, Cleveland-based Ferchill Group and Atlanta-based TerreMark Partners.

Ald. James Bohl Jr. said his doubts about the project outweighed his perceived benefits of the plan.

Ald Michael McGee Jr. said the $39 million TIF investment wasn't worth the $2 million in job training. McGee also said he didn't believe the project was a good fit for Milwaukee. "This city is not a first-class economic powerhouse," McGee said.

Chris Kleismet, CRG Network executive administrator, said today's vote was a victory for Milwaukee's taxpayers, but he said the group's work is only half done. The group said it will be organizing letter drops in several key aldermanic districts in regard to the votes on the PabstCity project.

"We'd like to extend our hand to Mayor Barrett and Ald. (Robert) Bauman," Kleismet said. "We'd like to lend our assistance in finding an appropriate project (for the former Pabst Brewery site)."

Craig Peterson, president and chief executive officer of Zigman Joseph Stephenson and a lobbyist who has been working on behalf of several downtown restaurant and entertainment establishment owners opposed to the project, said he has seen other development proposals for the Pabst site. However, Peterson declined to disclose any details about the alternative plans.

Andrea Rowe Richards, spokeswoman for the Milwaukee Department of City Development, told SBT today, "We have no other proposals in front of us."

Wispark, the commercial real estate subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy Corp., still owns the land, and Peterson said, "I'd invite WisPark to come back with alternative plans."

Juneau Avenue Partners had planned to raze 20 of 28 buildings at the site and convert the former brewery into a 488,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district with 257,000 square feet of office space and 250 housing units. The developers said they had obtained signed leases for Marcus Corp. multiplex movie theater complex, a House of Blues club and a GameWorks arcade. Critics of the plan included the owners of several existing downtown restaurant and entertainment venues, who complained about taxpayer dollars being used to subsidize their competition. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Richard "Rocky" Marcoux, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development, said the Pabst site was blighted, and the public subsidies were needed for the infrastructure to encourage the redevelopment of the former brewery.

The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee also announced today issued a request for proposals for the purchase of a 52,000-square-foot vacant industrial site at 1333 W. Pierce St. The site on the southern edge of the Menomonee River Valley in the Walker's Point neighborhood along National Avenue has a $60,000 minimum asking price. Proposals are due by Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. For additional information about the site, visit www.mkedcd.org/realestate/1333WPierce/RFP.html.

The Green Bay Packers opened their 2005 summer training camp today, kicking off a lucrative five-week season of tourism for the Green Bay area. Kari Sliva, president of the Packer Country Visitor and Convention Bureau (VCB), said, "Training camp is a very special event that attracts more than 100,000 people each year to the Green Bay area to kick off the football season. Fans from across the United States and as many as 20 foreign countries attend training camp, and schedule the event as their family vacation. The Packer Country VCB estimates the economic impact of training camp to the Green Bay area exceeds $35 million annually. In 2004, annual travel expenditures to Brown County jumped eight percent to $475 million. The VCB attributes much of the growth to the newly renovated Lambeau Field and increased activities during training camp." John Jones, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Packers, said, "It's an exciting time of year for all Packers fans. The new season is getting underway, and everyone is thrilled to see their favorite players back on the practice field. In addition to watching practice, we're excited about all the related activities in the Atrium that fans can enjoy, including the Packers Experience, the Packers Hall of Fame and stadium tours." To assist fans with keeping track of the daily schedule, www.packerstrainingcamp.com is available online and a complimentary camp guide, is available daily at practice.

Regal-Beloit Corp. today reported second quarter net income of $18.4 million, or 62 cents per share, up from $7.6 million, or 31 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. The company's quarterly net sales more than doubled to $368.8 million from $177.7 million a year earlier. "We continue to be extremely pleased with our financial performance and the progress on our strategic initiatives," said Henry Knueppel, president and chief executive officer of the Beloit-based manufacturer and marketer of mechanical and electrical motion control and power generation products. "Despite continued cost pressures from raw materials and the cooler weather that impacted sales into the HVAC channel, we delivered strong sales and income results. Our legacy electrical businesses reported strong revenue growth, and we continue to see strong results from the acquisitions."

A Wisconsin farmstead cheesemaker has won the coveted "Best of Show" award out of 749 entries at the 22nd annual American Cheese Society annual competition in Louisville, Ky. Mike Gingrich, Uplands Cheese Company, Dodgeville, took top honors for his Pleasant Ridge Reserve, a Beaufort-style cheese that captures the sweet flavors of Wisconsin pasture grasses. Saturday's competition marked the second time the Pleasant Ridge Reserve won Best of Show at the competition. "To win the top honor in one of the most prestigious competitions in the United States - not only once but twice in four years - is truly remarkable. Congratulations to Uplands Cheese and to all Wisconsin cheesemakers who are leading this nation's artisan and specialty cheese revolution," said Dan Carter, manager of the Dairy Business Innovation Center. Mike and Carol Gingrich and their partners Dan and Jeanne Patenaude practice rotational grazing for their dairy cows and Gingrich only produces his award-winning cheese from May through October. The Gingriches recently constructed a new cheese factory on their farm. Wisconsin farmstead and specialty cheesemakers swept the competition, capturing nearly a quarter of the awards bestowed. Cheesemakers from 26 states and Canada were represented. One of the most decorated Wisconsin artisan cheesemakers at the competition was Sid Cook and Carr Valley Cheese of LaValle, Wis. Cook received 20 awards, including five first-place ribbons for his cheeses.

The BizTimes Stock Index dipped .94 points from its 52-week high of 154.91 to close at 153.97 Monday, but local stocks attempted to recover that lost ground in early morning trading today. The largest local advancers this morning were Fiserv Inc. (up 67 cents to $43.42) and Badger Meter Inc. (up 60 cents to $46.40). The largest local decliners this morning were Strattec Security Corp. (down 78 cents to $58.32) and Harley-Davidson Inc. (down 64 cents to $53.36). The BizTimes Stock Index was created by Small Business Times and is monitored by North Shore Bank. The index, which measures the stock values of publicly held companies based in southeastern Wisconsin, is updated daily and can be viewed at www.biztimes.com.