Building could provide public works space
By Bert Lehman
The possibility of Waupaca County and the city of Clintonville sharing a public works building in the future was discussed when the city Facilities Committee met April 27.
The presentation was prepared by Scott Purchatzke, a member of Waupaca city council and the county board, County Highway Commissioner Casey Beyersdorf, City Administrator Caz Muske, and Police Chief Craig Freitag.
Their presentation was for a Leadership Waupaca County class project.
“This project was chosen because there was mutual interest brought forward by both the city and the county for a collaboration and we’re just trying to put a little idea in people’s minds of what could possibly happen in the future,” Purchatzke told the committee.
Muske said aging infrastructure is not unique to Clintonville. She said many municipalities and counties are weighing their options on how to replace dilapidated facilities.
Muske said when she began working for the city in 2020, Beyersdorf approached her about a previous conversation between the city and county regarding a shared facility.
“This partnership opportunity to provide maximum service to our communities while lessening the costs to a single taxing body, and at the same time more efficiently utilizing our facility,” Muske said.
Clintonville and Waupaca County already have an existing partnership with road repair and bridge inspections, Muske said.
“The partnership is there, and this would just expand on that partnership,” Muske said.
Funding concerns
In addition to aging facilities, lack of financial resources is also a concern.
Beyersdorf said the balance of investing public tax dollars to support public roads, bridges, utilities, and equipment cannot happen unless there are sound service support facilities to house equipment and personnel.
“That’s one of the biggest limited resources that both municipalities, the county and the city, would face upfront,” Beyersdorf said.
The county and city operate differently, Beyersdorf said. The county is an enterprise fund.
“Our equipment is supposed to generate enough revenue, by use of it, to create a slight profit,” Beyersdorf said. “Not enough profit that’s going to buy 30 plow trucks in a year, we may get one or two plow trucks on that profit.”
The profit generated by the equipment plus the depreciation of the equipment is the county’s annual equipment budget, Beyersdorf said.
Beyersdorf said a few things that could be shared in a joint facility between Waupaca County and the city of Clintonville include a fuel island, office space, garage for equipment storage and shop operations and a parking lot.
In addition to the financial benefits, Muske said a shared facility would also lead to improved operations and conditions. These include onsite mechanic access for the county, more accessibility for the city to continue contracting with the county, the county having access to more potential employees, and safe and adequate work spaces.
“It doesn’t happen overnight. The process takes years, but it’s hard to get somewhere if you don’t start,” Beyersdorf said.
Shared facility location
Beyersdorf said in 2019, Waupaca County was asked if it was interested in purchasing the Marion Wayside, which is no longer used as a wayside. He said initially he thought maybe that property could be used as a satellite shop in northeast Waupaca County.
He added that the county was in no position to purchase the Marion Wayside at that time because the county was building a new highway department building.
The Marion Wayside idea is still out there, but Beyersdorf said it might be better for the county to add a facility in the Clintonville area.
If the county were to build a facility in the Clintonville area, Beyersdorf said a good location would be next to Klein Auto. Beyersdorf stressed that no landowners have been contacted regarding this, as it’s just an idea.
He added that a facility should not be located in a residential area because of truck traffic during the winter for snowplowing. Easy access to Highway 45 would also be beneficial for that location.
Funding scenarios
One funding scenario would have Waupaca County own half of the facility and the city of Clintonville own half of the facility, Muske said.
Another scenario would have the county own all of the facility, and the city leasing a portion of the facility from the county. This could be lease to own, or a continuous lease.
Beyersdorf added that another scenario could be the city own the property and utilities coming into the facility, while the county owns the buildings and everything inside the buildings.
In addition, there could be ways to share inventory of materials that both the city and county use.
“It’s limitless on how that scenario would work,” Beyersdorf said.
Muske added that there could possibly be grants available to the city to help fund such a facility. Beyersdorf said he isn’t aware of any grants available to the county.
“That’s all stuff that would have to be investigated over the next decade,” Beyersdorf said. “You really don’t know what you want to investigate unless you set that foundation, and that’s purchasing the property.”
Memorandum of Understanding
Purchatzke said all the details that need to be determined would result in a Memorandum of Understanding.
“These are the hard questions that will be answered in a potential project, that would be a collaborative project,” Purchatzke said.
Muske said potential obstacles to a shared facility include location, competition for revenue and growth, perceived differences, perceived loss of identity, perceived loss of access, reduced control and accountability, and threat to employees.
She said ways to overcome those obstacles include demonstrate improved services and conditions, clear fiscal benefit, shared perception of need, support of community and stakeholders, trust, and collaborative leadership.
“We both are looking and needing different facilities, better facilities,” Muske said.
Purchatzke added, “It’s very important in a project like this to keep an open mind, absorb all the details, and then you’ll come up with questions.”
Beyersdorf said that one of the first steps for the city would be conducting a space needs study.
“That’s where it kind of kicks off,” Beyersdorf said. “That’s where you have a small, light investment.”
Committee Chair Steve Kettenhoven said the idea of a shared facility is “definitely something to look at. And like you said, it’s not something that happens overnight, so it’s something we really need to get working on if we’re going to do something.”
Beyersdorf recommended the city form an ad hoc committee to research the issue.