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Area officials advise against new retail outlet

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Some urban area officials said "whoa" to a proposed development at the southeast intersection of Interstate 39 and County Trunk HH on Thursday, Feb. 12, much to the chagrin of officials from the village and town of Plover.

Four communities on the Urban Area Sewer System Advisory Committee voted to reject 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 called Crossroads Common. That development was formerly known as Portage County Market Place.

The committee consists of the seven urban communities in Portage County, and the four communities voting to reject the request represent about 63 percent of the weighted vote and about 68 percent of the population of the urban area.

The committee's action is advisory, with the final decision on the sewer district change up to the state Department of Natural Resources.

Charles Kell, director of the Portage County Planning and Zoning Department, who spearheaded the development proposal when the Portage County Board unveiled it in January 2003, said "this is the first time we've had a town and village come together on a request, which is unusual and shows intergovernmental cooperation."

Kell said the sewer and water extension to the property would come from the intersection of Lombard Drive and White Oak Avenue in Plover and go under I-39 to the site. The village has added 87 acres to its service area since 1983 when the area sewer service plan was first developed, he said, compared to 984 acres the city has added, including 420 acres for the Portage County Business Park.

Plover adopted a plan in 1992 which identified the area for commercial activity to serve travel-related establishments, he said, and when the business park was added to the sewer service area, officials indicated development to the south would be in the village of Plover's service area.

Kell said the town and village are talking about revenue sharing with the development because the town is due to lose $97,000 of its revenue, 21 percent of its property tax levy, when an area to the northeast becomes part of Stevens Point in a few years because of a previous sewer agreement. "The village is willing to help soften the blow."

The village meets the standards established for the extension, he said, because the area needs to have sanitary sewers for development and has already been annexed to the village.

"From a planning perspective, I will be recommending approval of the request to the DNR," he said.

Hull Town Chairman John Holdridge asked why he and other members of the committee didn't get a packet from Kell about his presentation prior to the meeting. "I didn't get a chance to read this," Holdridge said. "This is stuff that ought to be available to the seven of us before the meeting."

Linwood Town Chairman Hank Becker agreed, saying the committee hasn't had time to study the request like it has with others. The proposal was dealt with so much in closed session, he said, "the public has no knowledge of what it's about. This should not be done behind closed doors. It should be open to the public."

Holdridge also questioned the rush for the development, saying the work on Portage County's Smart Growth plan is still in process and the area proposed for the sewer extension was never specifically identified for commercial development in previous planning guides.

He said the town and the city got together in the early 1990s to plan development to the east of Stevens Point and the Smart Growth plan is supposed to look at that throughout the county.

"Smart Growth was openness in government, transparency," he said. "We bought into it. We appointed an urban group and a rural group. They've been working diligently on it. Then in February 2003, here comes Market Place, a complete surprise. It was done in a closed session.

"What that did was make a great deal of us very, very angry," he said. "We had spent a lot of time on openness in government. Then here comes the County Board behind closed doors, led by Portage County Planning, the same department that got us involved in Smart Growth. You have to understand why we have a real problem here."

Stevens Point Mayor Gary Wescott said area communities have been working hard to build cooperation, pointing to the countywide paramedic program, the area telecommunications commission and the comprehensive planning process. "We agreed to work together in developing a comprehensive land use plan," he said. "We would do it cooperatively and in the open."

He said Plover benefited from the development of the Portage County Business Park through the creation of good-paying jobs and so has the school system. "Today, the 14 industries and businesses there pay more in property tax than most of the city's east side commercial development," he said.

He said Plover's request was premature because the Smart Growth planning process hasn't advanced far enough yet. "We haven't finished our work of evaluating a land-use plan that drives us to the sewer service plan," he said.

He called the request an example of urban sprawl and said Plover has ample vacant land that can be used for commercial sites in the village already, so it could be used for that purpose.

Dan Mahoney, Plover village administrator, said the village has undeveloped land but that much of it is zoned for agriculture, which is its present use.

Becker said the Soik property, the site of Plover's request, was zoned agriculture and was turned into commercial when the development proposal came out of a closed-door meeting. "We have to get public input and get the feelings of everybody," he said. "This is something we have to spend more time with to study."

Robert Steinke, chairman of the town of Plover, was angered by some of the comments. "There's too many people who, for whatever reason, have an axe to grind and they're doing it big time."

Plover Village President Dan Schlutter moved to approve the village's request, saying the four standards for approval had been met. "I open the door for Mayor Wescott to second it."

Wescott didn't respond, so Jerry Walters of the village of Whiting seconded the motion. Schlutter, Steinke and Walters voted in favor of the request, while Holdridge, Becker, Wescott and Elmer Fournier, Park Ridge's representative, voted against it.

"You took a very big step backward," Steinke said after the vote.



	Area officials advise against new retail outlet By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette Some urban area officials said "whoa" to a proposed development at the southeast intersection of Interstate 39 and County Trunk HH on Thursday, Feb. 12, much to the chagrin of officials from the village and town of Plover. Four communities on the Urban Area Sewer System Advisory Committee voted to reject 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 called Crossroads Common. That development was formerly known as Portage County Market Place. The committee consists of the seven urban communities in Portage County, and the four communities voting to reject the request represent about 63 percent of the weighted vote and about 68 percent of the population of the urban area. The committee's action is advisory, with the final decision on the sewer district change up to the state Department of Natural Resources. Charles Kell, director of the Portage County Planning and Zoning Department, who spearheaded the development proposal when the Portage County Board unveiled it in January 2003, said "this is the first time we've had a town and village come together on a request, which is unusual and shows intergovernmental cooperation." Kell said the sewer and water extension to the property would come from the intersection of Lombard Drive and White Oak Avenue in Plover and go under I-39 to the site. The village has added 87 acres to its service area since 1983 when the area sewer service plan was first developed, he said, compared to 984 acres the city has added, including 420 acres for the Portage County Business Park. Plover adopted a plan in 1992 which identified the area for commercial activity to serve travel-related establishments, he said, and when the business park was added to the sewer service area, officials indicated development to the south would be in the village of Plover's service area. Kell said the town and village are talking about revenue sharing with the development because the town is due to lose $97,000 of its revenue, 21 percent of its property tax levy, when an area to the northeast becomes part of Stevens Point in a few years because of a previous sewer agreement. "The village is willing to help soften the blow." The village meets the standards established for the extension, he said, because the area needs to have sanitary sewers for development and has already been annexed to the village. "From a planning perspective, I will be recommending approval of the request to the DNR," he said. Hull Town Chairman John Holdridge asked why he and other members of the committee didn't get a packet from Kell about his presentation prior to the meeting. "I didn't get a chance to read this," Holdridge said. "This is stuff that ought to be available to the seven of us before the meeting." Linwood Town Chairman Hank Becker agreed, saying the committee hasn't had time to study the request like it has with others. The proposal was dealt with so much in closed session, he said, "the public has no knowledge of what it's about. This should not be done behind closed doors. It should be open to the public." Holdridge also questioned the rush for the development, saying the work on Portage County's Smart Growth plan is still in process and the area proposed for the sewer extension was never specifically identified for commercial development in previous planning guides. He said the town and the city got together in the early 1990s to plan development to the east of Stevens Point and the Smart Growth plan is supposed to look at that throughout the county. "Smart Growth was openness in government, transparency," he said. "We bought into it. We appointed an urban group and a rural group. They've been working diligently on it. Then in February 2003, here comes Market Place, a complete surprise. It was done in a closed session. "What that did was make a great deal of us very, very angry," he said. "We had spent a lot of time on openness in government. Then here comes the County Board behind closed doors, led by Portage County Planning, the same department that got us involved in Smart Growth. You have to understand why we have a real problem here." Stevens Point Mayor Gary Wescott said area communities have been working hard to build cooperation, pointing to the countywide paramedic program, the area telecommunications commission and the comprehensive planning process. "We agreed to work together in developing a comprehensive land use plan," he said. "We would do it cooperatively and in the open." He said Plover benefited from the development of the Portage County Business Park through the creation of good-paying jobs and so has the school system. "Today, the 14 industries and businesses there pay more in property tax than most of the city's east side commercial development," he said. He said Plover's request was premature because the Smart Growth planning process hasn't advanced far enough yet. "We haven't finished our work of evaluating a land-use plan that drives us to the sewer service plan," he said. He called the request an example of urban sprawl and said Plover has ample vacant land that can be used for commercial sites in the village already, so it could be used for that purpose. Dan Mahoney, Plover village administrator, said the village has undeveloped land but that much of it is zoned for agriculture, which is its present use. Becker said the Soik property, the site of Plover's request, was zoned agriculture and was turned into commercial when the development proposal came out of a closed-door meeting. "We have to get public input and get the feelings of everybody," he said. "This is something we have to spend more time with to study." Robert Steinke, chairman of the town of Plover, was angered by some of the comments. "There's too many people who, for whatever reason, have an axe to grind and they're doing it big time." Plover Village President Dan Schlutter moved to approve the village's request, saying the four standards for approval had been met. "I open the door for Mayor Wescott to second it." Wescott didn't respond, so Jerry Walters of the village of Whiting seconded the motion. Schlutter, Steinke and Walters voted in favor of the request, while Holdridge, Becker, Wescott and Elmer Fournier, Park Ridge's representative, voted against it. "You took a very big step backward," Steinke said after the vote.