County looks to expand recreational opportunities

Considering property purchase, funding park upgrades

The current county forest property is in green, the proposed 234-acre parcel is outlined in red and the possible county park on the 150-acre lake is outlined in green.

Posted Monday, September 27, 2021 12:08 pm

Park gets okay to expand capital improvement account

The Monroe County Board last Wednesday approved increasing the maximum balance of the McMullin Park capital improvement account to accommodate future upgrades in the county-owned campground.

The board increased the account from $200,000 to $300,000. The account is funded through excess annual park revenue and used to pay for improvements on the grounds without having to access the tax levy.

It’s current balance is $154,000, most of which came from excess revenue from 2018 to 2020.

Forest and Parks Administrator Chad Ziegler said McMullin Park has around $1.5 million in assets, including $600,000 in structures, $400,000 in roads, $250,000 in water, sewer and electrical infrastructure and $140,000 in equipment.

Zeigler said the park is looking at $665,000 worth of major capital improvement projects in the near future, including an estimated $330,000 for a new shower building. He said the park currently has one shower facility but it is inadequate for the number of campers who use the campground.

He added that the 12,000 square feet of asphalt on in the park was installed in 1999 and will need to be replaced by 2030. That will take nine years of contributing to the capital improvement account, he said.

In 2020, $50,000 was added to the account, while another $75,000 is estimated to be added from 2021 excess revenue.

By PAT MULVANEY, Herald Editor

Monroe County is considering purchasing a 234-acre parcel of woodland in the Town of Byron to add to its inventory of county forest and increase recreational opportunities in the area.

The county’s forestry and parks administrator, Chad Ziegler, presented a proposal to the Monroe County Board last Wednesday outlining a purchase plan of the property, which is just east of Valley Junction and abuts the county forest to the north.

The cost of the parcel is $365,000, or $1,557 per acre, which would be purchased from the Burbulis Family Real Estate LLC through an assortment of grants, zero-interest loans and forestry account funds.

Ziegler said the county would apply for a $183,000 grant from Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, which was created to expand outdoor recreational opportunities in Wisconsin, and $50,000 from a fund created by American Transmission Company (ATC), which installed a high voltage transmission line through Monroe County.

Another $86,000 would come from an interest free loan from the DNR, which would be paid back through 20% of annual timber sales from county land. The county also has $49,000 in a non-lapsing account earmarked for land purchases.

According to Ziegler, the property includes 195 acres of pine/oak forest, much of it mature, 39 acres of wetland and a 1.2-mile road which bisects the land and offers access to the existing county forest.

It also is in the vicinity of a future county park. Last December, the county board approved an option-to-purchase agreement with Hi-Crush sand mine for public access to lake property. Hi-Crush, is creating what is planned to be a 150-acre lake through its mining operation.

Under the agreement, the county will pay $1 for the 11-acre parcel located west of the Lemonwier River. The mining operation is expected to be complete in five to seven years, depending on demand for industrial sand, and the county has until then to decide if it wants to exercise the option.

When complete, the lake is expected to be 150 feet deep at its deepest point but will have gradual slopes along the shoreline, making for decent fish habitat. The lake and property could also be used for other recreational activities such as swimming, boating, sightseeing and wildlife viewing.

The county’s parcel would be accessed off of Copper Road and would have about 1,300 feet of shoreline

Ziegler said while their exists some private land between the forest property and the future lake property, those potentially could be purchased in the future, connecting the county forest to the lake.

He pointed out it would be a worthwhile investment for the county’s economy considering Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry pulled in $7.8 billion in 2020. He added it also would help support the forest products industry, the second largest industry in the state – second only to agriculture – which had $24.5 billion worth of output in 2020.

According to Ziegler, the forest products industry is the eighth ranked industry in Monroe County, supporting 427 jobs with an average annual income of $58,000.

The owner of the 234-acre parcel wants to close in Aug. 2022. The Natural Resources Committee is expected forward a resolution to the board next month authorizing it to sign an agreement to purchase the land. The purchase would be contingent on the grants and DNR loan being approved.