Master planning process takes precedence
By Scott Bellile
The Friends of Mosquito Hill Board of Directors has temporarily halted an initiative to rename the nature center.
At the FOMH donor group’s annual meeting in July, nature center staff and Outagamie County officials proposed changing the name of Mosquito Hill Nature Center. They said visitors are avoiding the nature center because the name leads them to believe it has a high mosquito population. And as the county budget continues to tighten, the nature center needs more tourism, not less, to generate revenue.
At that same meeting, the approximately 10 to 15 percent of the FOMH membership in attendance voted 20-14 to recommend a name change to the Outagamie County Board.
A majority of voters recommended switching the nature center’s name to Wolf Peak Nature Park, which was one of two options the FOMH Board of Directors presented.
Since then, opponents of the proposal have been vocal in their criticism. The critics say changing the nature center’s name would destroy a part of its legacy. They urged the county to try promoting the nature center more instead.
Outagamie County does not need permission from FOMH to change the name. But county officials are seeking the donor group’s input out of respect for the group and as a way of gauge overall public opinion on the topic.
David Wuebben, president of the FOMH Board of Directors, said FOMH decided to delay recommending the name change to Outagamie County until the nature center finishes its master planning process.
The master planning process, which kicked off last month, is a dialogue between Outagamie County and the public to determine long-range plans for utilizing the nature center grounds as well as the new 11-acre Kamps property, which the county acquired this year.
Wuebben expects Outagamie County’s master planning process to last through the remainder of 2018.
“The [FOMH Board of Directors first] would like to consider the results of the planning process (in case there is something that would have bearing on the name) prior to recommending a name,” Wuebben stated in an email to the Press Star last week.
Jeff Nooyen, chairman of the Outagamie County Board, said if the FOMH Board of Directors decides to follow through on its initial recommendation to change the name, then that recommendation to rebrand would appear before the county’s property committee. That committee would need to approve the recommendation first before advancing it to the full county board.
There is no county board vote scheduled in the near future, Nooyen said.
Wuebben first informed the public that the FOMH Board of Directors halted the rebranding initiative during a Sept. 5 master planning meeting at the nature center.
“I don’t foresee any immediate decision as it relates to rebranding anytime real soon,” Wuebben said at that meeting.
Wuebben told the Press Star that if ultimately a name change occurs once master planning is completed, the rebranding would only apply to the name of the nature center. The hill would continue to officially be referred to as Mosquito Hill.
Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson said the final decision on the nature center’s name will rest on what the FOMH membership feels is right.
“I think it’s going to come down to what the people want,” Nelson said. “The friends group provides a lot of leadership on any number of issues at Mosquito Hill. They’re a major, major stakeholder, and we will listen to them.”