Gov. Tony Evers celebrated with city of Gillett officials Aug. 28 about receiving a $1 million Community Development Block Grant from the federal government while warning that such funding could disappear at the hands of the Trump administration.
The grant is expected to help the city make improvements to Zippel Park, including a new playground to replace equipment that has sat there for decades, with even the elderly in the community recalling using the equipment.
Bids are expected to be approved in January or February, with work beginning next spring with the hopes that it will be done by fall 2026.
According to Art Bahr with MSA Professional Services, the firm overseeing the park project, the city is looking to make Zippel a destination area for Gillett.
“Parents from throughout the county or throughout the region can come here and spend half a day,” Bahr said. “The kids can play. The parents have nice places to hang out. You have shade; you’ve got nice tables and nice scenery.”
The park will be all-inclusive, with a rubberized surface so that people who use wheelchairs or have mobility limits will be able to access the facilities. There will be some lighting so that the park can also be used at night, and the city will be putting asphalt paths 8 feet wide to get from the parking area to the playground, Bahr said.
“Anyone with any mobility issues would actually be able to use the whole park,” he said. “I attended a concert here a few weeks ago — one of the evening concerts in the park. (I) came to that, and I saw some of the struggle people had with wheelchairs and things like that in the grass.”
The park serves as a parking area for the Nicolet State Trail, an 89-mile gravel trail that connects Oconto County with Florence and Forest counties.
“You would think that would be a good tourism draw, but what happens is people come here with their car, they unload their ATV and they leave town,” Bahr said. “We wanted to do something that would get people into this park, get them to hang around for a while before that or after that.”
Bahr noted that he and Gillett Alderman Jerry Luther, chairman for the city’s parks and services committee, went around the community to discuss the project and get input on what was needed to improve the park, which also serves as the Oconto County Fairgrounds.
Bahr said he believes making the improvements to Zippel would attract families to the area, and the ones who are not already in the community would not have to travel to Shawano to enjoy a modernized park.
“It’s a bedroom community,” Bahr said about Gillett. “We have some industry here, and we’re thankful for that, and it does support the community. Even a bedroom community needs something for the children.”
Mayor Jon Blaskowski agreed that something is needed for families.
“Zippel Park is the focal point for the city of Gillett,” Blaskowski said. “We really appreciate getting this grant, because we’ll be able to put in a good park for our kids and our families. As mayor, one of the big things I’ve talked to numerous people in the community about is continuing to expand Zippel Park.”
Evers said he is concerned about the CDBG program ending under the Trump administration, along with other initiatives that help to improve communities.
“I came from a small town, and I’ve lived in small-town Wisconsin,” Evers said. “This is one of the few programs that is for you. Lots of things are needed in small villages and cities, townships, you name it.”
Evers praised Gillett officials on what they were doing to improve the city by renovating the park and said it would not be something the city could put on the backs of local property owners.
“It’s an important project, and to have it be turned over to the taxpayers to pay for it, that’s a problem,” he said. “We’re going to fight for this.”
Evers vowed to do whatever it takes to keep the CDBG program alive, noting that there’s less than a year before the funding dries up.
“The legislators, I don’t care if they’re Democratic or Republican, they support this program, and with good reason,” Evers said. “To me, it’s one of those things where you have to be prepared. At the end of the day, we have to make sure this continues.”
Luther agreed that CDBG serves a purpose and that the park project, in particular, will improve Gillett’s outlook.
“These grants are what it takes for a small community to be able to survive,” Luther said. “You can’t put it on the taxpayers. People can’t afford what they’re paying now.”
