MHNA Member Meeting | October 23, 2025
Day: Thursday, October 23, 2025
Time: 6:15 p.m. Dinner; 7:00 p.m. Meeting
Place: Plymouth Church, 2717 E. Hampshire Street
Dinner starts at 6:15 p.m. Come early to meet your neighbors and dine before the 7:00 p.m. meeting. Feel free to bring a dessert to share. For our final member meeting of 2025, we will be serving a Fall Finale dinner featuring pork ribs, mac and cheese, a vegetable side, and corn bread.
Please RSVP to attend dinner here by Tuesday, October 21 to allow us to plan the meal.
Our Guest Speaker this Month:
Jeff Laufenberg, Urban Forestry District Manager,
City of Milwaukee Forestry Services
Learn About Milwaukee’s Urban Forestry Services and History
City of Milwaukee Forestry Services is responsible for the design, planning, planting, and management of approximately 190,000 street trees, boulevards, landscapes, green spaces, and beautification projects within Milwaukee.
The primary goal is to efficiently manage the urban landscape to provide a better quality of life for Milwaukee’s citizens and visitors. This effort seeks to maximize the environmental and psychological benefits of the urban forest, while enhancing both landscape and property values.
As Urban Forestry District Manager, Jeff Laufenberg is responsible for the Forestry Operations for the Central District of Milwaukee, which is roughly Miller Valley to Capitol Drive. Jeff has worked for the Forestry Department for almost 20 years, starting as an Urban Forestry Specialist Trainee and working through roles as a Crew Leader, and Urban Forestry Manager before his current position the last six years.
Jeff is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist, and is ISA Urban Forestry Professional Certified and ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified. Jeff also serves as one of six rotating Snow Duty Managers for the City of Milwaukee during the winter months.
City Forestry and Murray Hill Neighborhood Historic Connection Forestry
The first City of Milwaukee landscaped boulevard was constructed in 1897 as a part of Frederick Law Olmstead’s principle that public spaces should be free and accessible, regardless of class differences. He conceptualized boulevards as ”broad, linear green spaces, essentially linear parks, which could connect or terminate at spacious parks.” Boulevards and Parks together would form a “Green Necklace” around the City. The Common Council at the time only funded the first boulevard, which was Newberry. Newberry Boulevard still stretches for one mile connecting two of Law Olmstead’s parks, Lake and Riverside.
Learn more about the City of Milwaukee Forestry Services here.
Also Presenting: Crime and Safety Report from MPD District 1
Our Milwaukee Police Department Community Liaison Officer representative will also join us to provide neighborhood crime and safety updates as well as information on specific issues the police are currently working on in Murray Hill and on the East Side.
MHNA Board Elections
The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association Board elections will take place during the October member meeting. There are currently four director positions up for reelection: Vice President, Treasurer, and director positions one and two. All current directors have agreed to continue serving on the Board and are running for reelection. In addition, there are one or two open seats, which would be up for reelection next year.
The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association has a nine-member board of directors. Your MHNA board directors are deeply passionate about our community. Please consider joining the board to support our commitment to provide residents a stronger voice and keep our community engaged, safe, and vibrant. Email us at messages@murrayhillna.org or reach out directly to a current board member to learn more about what we do behind the scenes.
Virtual Meeting Option
If you are unable to join us in person, please feel free to join via Zoom by registering for the meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We look forward to seeing everyone!
Join MHNA Today!
As a member you’ll be informed about what’s happening in our community through timely announcements and receive invitations to our monthly member meetings, which are held on the fourth Thursday of each month.
Your membership dues help support our commitment to provide residents a stronger voice and keep our community strong, safe, and vibrant. We could not provide our member programs and newsletter, sponsor community events and maintain our website without your support!
To become a member or renew your membership, visit murrayhillna.org/membership to pay online. MHNA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and your member dues and contributions to MHNA are tax-deductible.
Thank you for your support. We welcome your ideas to keep Murray Hill a beautiful and engaging place to live. Email us at issues@murrayhillna.org and visit murrayhillna.org to learn more about MHNA.