Brian Roebke photo
It appears Wrightstown Fire Chief Mike Schampers will be leading the construction of a new fire station in the coming years after the village purchased land to build a new station.
Compiled by Brian Roebke
Editor
With industrial activity increasing on the west side of the Village of Wrightstown, trustees approved purchasing land for a new fire station in November.
The village was offered the property for $40,000 per acre and agreed to purchase the land for $102,000 to be taken from the 2021 General Fund Economic Development/Marketing Expense budget.
There is no specific timetable for construction of a new building, but the property offers plenty of room for a new station and associated area for training as well as excellent access to Broadway Street and the rest of the village.
The village also approved creating a Comprehensive Outdoor Recreational Plan. Village Administrator Travis Coenen is looking into a large grant to renovate the village’s River District. A requirement of that grant is to have such a plan that focuses on development and maintenance of municipal parks and trails. The estimated cost to create a plan, through Vandewalle & Associates, is $13,000-$20,000, with a six-month timeline for construction. Funding comes from the 2021 General Fund Economic Develop-ment/Marketing Expense budget.
The plan will also support the village’s pedestrian and bike master plan.
A Neighborhood Improvement Grant, created with ARPA funding, is to rehabilitate blighted neighborhoods. The minimum award is $1,000,000. Coenen said there is no match requirement, but projects that have already been completed, such as the improvements to Mueller Park and the Highway ZZ upgrades will improve the village’s chances of being accepted. MSA, a firm from Appleton, will assist with the grant application at an estimated cost of $8,000, with funds to come from the 2021 General Fund Economic Development/Marketing Expense budget. If awarded, funds will be used to transform the downtown. Funds are issued in January of 2022.
The board also approved installing additional antennas to the cell tower located at Wrightstown High School.
The board accepted the renewal of the Brown County Solid Waste Agreement that’s needed for the new south landfill that’s going into operation in January.
To help cover the $22 million construction cost for the landfill and ancillary facilities and acquisition of equipment, tipping rates will be increased.
When the landfill opens, the communities making up the Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago County Solid Waste Partnership Agreement will begin hauling and disposing solid waste at the new facility, although Outagamie County will continue to exclusively haul refuse to the Appleton site until filled approximately at the end of 2023.
The expected life expectancy of the South landfill is 16-18 years.
The former agreement was adopted in 2012 and it is Brown County’s intent to continue to provide long-term environmentally sound solid waste management at a low cost.
Brown County is estimating an $8 per ton increase in the tipping fees for municipal customers, not including annual consumer price index increases. A rate stabilization fund established by the existing Brown County Solid Waste Agreement in the amount of $1.1 million will be used by the County to allow for an incremental increase to the municipal tipping rate over a five-year period beginning in 2022.
The incremental rate increases estimated above will result in a $10.60/ton ($10,33) cost increase in 2022 and yearly increases of $1,950 per year thereafter through 2026. However, due to recent favorable recycling markets, the proposed cost increase in 2022 is projected to be offset by the revenue generated by the disposal of recyclables. In 2021 the village received a $36/ton average for its recyclable goods. On an annual average basis, the village collects and hauls approximately 260 tons of recyclables to the mixed recycling facility.