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Crossroads still on hold

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The Urban Area Sewer Service Advisory Committee postponed action Wednesday, April 21, on extending the village of Plover sewer service area to cover the proposed Crossroads Common retail development at the southeast corner of County Trunk HH and Interstate 39.

After more than two hours of discussion, the committee asked for more information regarding sewer service for the development, calling for another meeting on the issue in 15 days.

Four communities on the committee, the city of Stevens Point, the village of Park Ridge and the towns of Hull and Linwood, voted to postpone action while the city prepares and reviews data about the sewer extension. The villages of Plover and Whiting and the town of Plover voted against the postponement.

While the simple vote is 4-3, voting is based on a weighted scale, with the actual tally amounting to about two-thirds favoring postponement and one-third opposing it.

The vote is the same as the committee's Feb. 12 rejection of a request from the village of Plover to remove 120 acres on the south side of Forest Drive on the southern edge of the village and replace them with 120 acres for the proposed retail development. That development was formerly known as Portage County Market Place.

Charles Ledin, chief of the Great Lakes and Watershed Planning Section of the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), returned the request to the committee. He asked it to readdress the issue and conform to Natural Resources regulation 121 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code regarding the cost-effective method of wastewater treatment and assessing the need for delineating and excluding environmentally sensitive areas.

Ledin, who was in Chicago, Ill., addressed the committee via telephone on a conference call during the meeting and offered to facilitate a future meeting on the issue.

Kevin Copeley of TOLD Development, which is developing Crossroads, expressed his dissatisfaction that the communities were arguing for an engineering study, delaying a multi-million-dollar development. "I think it's unfortunate that we are here today debating a cost study to provide sewer service for $76,000 (Plover's estimated cost of the sewer extension). It will take a lot of time.

"We have signed purchase agreements with Kohl's and Lowe's to purchase property and develop stores. Kohl's wants to break ground this fall," he said. "It's not fair to the landowner, to the village, to our clients to spend months and months debating who is going to sewer the area when it's going to cost less than $100,000. These postponements are more than irritating. They're problematic."

Plover Village Administrator Dan Mahoney said time is of the essence with the project. "We are at a position where there is a financial impact if this project doesn't start. We're talking about a $100 million project," he said. "We need to resolve this and move on."

Plover Village President Dan Schlutter called the committee's action "just a delay tactic to make sure this development does not take place. Lowe's would have one of its first sites in the state here. We're working them over."

Richard A. Lehmann, Madison, Plover's attorney, said he considered the city's study a waste of time and money because he doubted the city would extend sewer to the property even if it was less costly because the city usually doesn't provide sewer service to property outside the city.

Jerry Walters, Whiting's representative on the committee, said the figures for Plover's extension come from Earth Tech, an area firm that area communities on the committee hire for engineering services. "To postpone on the issue that we don't have the information is ridiculous."

Charles Kell, director of the Portage County Planning and Zoning Department, said the county has never had to submit a similar study in the 20 years the committee has been functioning.

Ledin said the recent request was different than any of the others from the committee, because typically local governments support the request, but they didn't in this case. "We don't like it when people are fighting," he said. "We aren't going to solve the differences between local governments and we would like to have those differences worked out before it comes to us."

Ledin said the committee has three options on the request, take no action at all so the village and town of Plover would have to appeal to the DNR for action, re-examine the issue or decide to study the issue further and look at it over a period of time.

Dennis Peterson, president of the Portage County Business Council, said the Business Council Board of Directors issued a statement after the project was first revealed following closed sessions to work out the deals for development.

The council supports development in the county, he said, but is disappointed in the lack of cooperation that has occurred with the development. "We are concerned that we will lose the opportunity to develop that piece of property."

In his letter asking the committee to review its Feb. 12 decision, Ledin had written "we are very concerned with the overall timing of this amendment process. It is very unfortunate that the decision of whether or not to provide sewer service to this parcel follows decisions already finalized through land sales, annexations, development plans and zoning changes.

"Instead of a regional governmental review and debate of how centralized wastewater treatment services can best serve the real and desired local growth patterns, the transcript of the service area review seems to reflect a debate of whether or not commercial development is needed in Portage County," he wrote.

Hull Town Chairman John Holdridge pointed to that comment while saying he supported additional study. "This process has been a mess since it started," he said, explaining that it came after Kell and Portage County initiated the Smart Growth planning process to develop a plan for land use throughout the county. "This is not good planning."

Holdridge also expressed fears about another project Plover is considering, an aquaplex on property now in the town of Plover. "Plover is proposing this and the committee hasn't heard anything about that."

Stevens Point Mayor Gary Wescott also expressed concerns about the planning process for the project. "If we as municipal leaders are to ignore the planning process, we are ignoring the 6,600 responses to questionnaires the county sent out. We are saying the comprehensive planning process is a waste of time."

He said all the municipalities in the county had agreed to work together on land-use planning and then this development was proposed. "I'm sorry that this has occurred," he said. "If we had waited eight or nine months, it would have led to an historic land-use agreement."



	Crossroads still on hold By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette The Urban Area Sewer Service Advisory Committee postponed action Wednesday, April 21, on extending the village of Plover sewer service area to cover the proposed Crossroads Common retail development at the southeast corner of County Trunk HH and Interstate 39. After more than two hours of discussion, the committee asked for more information regarding sewer service for the development, calling for another meeting on the issue in 15 days. Four communities on the committee, the city of Stevens Point, the village of Park Ridge and the towns of Hull and Linwood, voted to postpone action while the city prepares and reviews data about the sewer extension. The villages of Plover and Whiting and the town of Plover voted against the postponement. While the simple vote is 4-3, voting is based on a weighted scale, with the actual tally amounting to about two-thirds favoring postponement and one-third opposing it. The vote is the same as the committee's Feb. 12 rejection of a request from the village of Plover to remove 120 acres on the south side of Forest Drive on the southern edge of the village and replace them with 120 acres for the proposed retail development. That development was formerly known as Portage County Market Place. Charles Ledin, chief of the Great Lakes and Watershed Planning Section of the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), returned the request to the committee. He asked it to readdress the issue and conform to Natural Resources regulation 121 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code regarding the cost-effective method of wastewater treatment and assessing the need for delineating and excluding environmentally sensitive areas. Ledin, who was in Chicago, Ill., addressed the committee via telephone on a conference call during the meeting and offered to facilitate a future meeting on the issue. Kevin Copeley of TOLD Development, which is developing Crossroads, expressed his dissatisfaction that the communities were arguing for an engineering study, delaying a multi-million-dollar development. "I think it's unfortunate that we are here today debating a cost study to provide sewer service for $76,000 (Plover's estimated cost of the sewer extension). It will take a lot of time. "We have signed purchase agreements with Kohl's and Lowe's to purchase property and develop stores. Kohl's wants to break ground this fall," he said. "It's not fair to the landowner, to the village, to our clients to spend months and months debating who is going to sewer the area when it's going to cost less than $100,000. These postponements are more than irritating. They're problematic." Plover Village Administrator Dan Mahoney said time is of the essence with the project. "We are at a position where there is a financial impact if this project doesn't start. We're talking about a $100 million project," he said. "We need to resolve this and move on." Plover Village President Dan Schlutter called the committee's action "just a delay tactic to make sure this development does not take place. Lowe's would have one of its first sites in the state here. We're working them over." Richard A. Lehmann, Madison, Plover's attorney, said he considered the city's study a waste of time and money because he doubted the city would extend sewer to the property even if it was less costly because the city usually doesn't provide sewer service to property outside the city. Jerry Walters, Whiting's representative on the committee, said the figures for Plover's extension come from Earth Tech, an area firm that area communities on the committee hire for engineering services. "To postpone on the issue that we don't have the information is ridiculous." Charles Kell, director of the Portage County Planning and Zoning Department, said the county has never had to submit a similar study in the 20 years the committee has been functioning. Ledin said the recent request was different than any of the others from the committee, because typically local governments support the request, but they didn't in this case. "We don't like it when people are fighting," he said. "We aren't going to solve the differences between local governments and we would like to have those differences worked out before it comes to us." Ledin said the committee has three options on the request, take no action at all so the village and town of Plover would have to appeal to the DNR for action, re-examine the issue or decide to study the issue further and look at it over a period of time. Dennis Peterson, president of the Portage County Business Council, said the Business Council Board of Directors issued a statement after the project was first revealed following closed sessions to work out the deals for development. The council supports development in the county, he said, but is disappointed in the lack of cooperation that has occurred with the development. "We are concerned that we will lose the opportunity to develop that piece of property." In his letter asking the committee to review its Feb. 12 decision, Ledin had written "we are very concerned with the overall timing of this amendment process. It is very unfortunate that the decision of whether or not to provide sewer service to this parcel follows decisions already finalized through land sales, annexations, development plans and zoning changes. "Instead of a regional governmental review and debate of how centralized wastewater treatment services can best serve the real and desired local growth patterns, the transcript of the service area review seems to reflect a debate of whether or not commercial development is needed in Portage County," he wrote. Hull Town Chairman John Holdridge pointed to that comment while saying he supported additional study. "This process has been a mess since it started," he said, explaining that it came after Kell and Portage County initiated the Smart Growth planning process to develop a plan for land use throughout the county. "This is not good planning." Holdridge also expressed fears about another project Plover is considering, an aquaplex on property now in the town of Plover. "Plover is proposing this and the committee hasn't heard anything about that." Stevens Point Mayor Gary Wescott also expressed concerns about the planning process for the project. "If we as municipal leaders are to ignore the planning process, we are ignoring the 6,600 responses to questionnaires the county sent out. We are saying the comprehensive planning process is a waste of time." He said all the municipalities in the county had agreed to work together on land-use planning and then this development was proposed. "I'm sorry that this has occurred," he said. "If we had waited eight or nine months, it would have led to an historic land-use agreement."