By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The developer of a proposed $100 million aquaplex water park in the village of Plover owes the creator of its master plan $39,500 in payment for the plan.
The judgment for that amount was entered in Portage County Circuit Court on Feb. 7 in favor of the Rettler Corp., 3317 Business Park Drive, Stevens Point, against H2O Development Co. LLC, 1421 Brookhaven Way, Plover, and its principals, Scott Neale and Tom Gleisner.
Rettler filed a suit against H2O on April 19, 2004, saying Rettler had started on the master plan in March 2003 at the request of H2O and completed the plan by June 30, 2003, but H2O failed to pay the $54,000 as agreed upon May 28, 2003.
The master plan called for the creation of an indoor water park, man-made lakes, hotel and convention facilities on a 445-acre complex in the town of Plover between Highway 54 and County Trunk B, including the Tree Acres Golf Course.
The complex plans include three lakes on 72 acres; bridges; boat docks; piers; grandstands; a visitors' center; skiers' pavilion; parking lots; a four-story 350-room hotel; a connected 63,000-square-foot convention center and a 50,000-square-foot indoor water park/aquatic center.
In the legal filing Rettler said it sent bills to H2O since May 2003 and the bill was never paid. A pre-trial brief said the bill of $54,000 remained unpaid as of Dec. 13, 2004, bringing the total with interest to $57,407.
While the judgment was deemed entered on Dec. 20, 2004, the entry that was signed on Feb. 7 called for payment of $39,500.
On Oct. 15, 2004, a list of expert witnesses for a possible trial on the matter was filed in court. Among the potential witnesses were Dan Schlutter, Plover village president, and Dan Mahoney, village administrator.
Initially, the aquaplex was proposed as a $25 million to $50 million development and the Portage County Business Council received a federal grant for $98,600 in October 2003 to provide technical assistance to determine the feasibility of a proposed development.
The grant through Rural Development, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was to focus on determining the feasibility, design and market research for the proposed competitive sport lakes complex concept.
By the spring of 2004, the proposed aquaplex increased in estimated value to $100 million.
Because the property was proposed for annexation into the village of Plover, the village also worked out an agreement with H2O to limit the village's obligations to public improvements to the property, including sewer, water and storm sewer. The agreement with the village was necessary in order for the financing package to be approved by a financial institution, village officials said.
Other terms of the agreement called for the village to levy special assessments for improvements to the property, create a Tax Incremental Financing District (TIF) to aid in the development, get annexation approved, zoning changed and the sewer service area extended to include the property.
Under another term of the agreement, if the equalized valuation of the property failed to reach $88.61 million within 24 months of project completion, H2O agreed to pay the village, in lieu of taxes, the difference between the valuation and the amount for taxes.
The developer also signed a pre-development agreement to reimburse the village for any costs if the project is not completed.
On Oct. 14, 2004, the Stevens Point Urban Area Sewer Service Advisory Committee unanimously approved the expansion of Plover's sewer service area to include approximately 605 acres for the proposed aquaplex development so the property could be annexed to the village.