Middle school land annexation begins

Oconto Falls School Board and City Council reviewed process this week
By: 
Warren Bluhm
Editor-in-chief

Before a new Oconto Falls middle school is built, the land under it must be annexed into the city of Oconto Falls.

City Administrator Peter Wills and Utilities Manager Greg Kuhn briefed the Oconto Falls School Board about the process of annexation during its meeting Dec. 12. The Oconto Falls City Council was scheduled to get a similar briefing the following night.

A few years ago, the school district purchased about 105 acres across County Road I from Oconto Falls High School and Oconto Falls Elementary School, envisioning a campus that could eventually include a new middle school. Voters on Nov. 8 approved a $37.6 million referendum, mostly comprised of funds to replace aging Washington Middle School.

One of the next steps is annexation of the vacant property, which is located in the adjoining Town of Stiles. Wills said the process will be fairly straightforward because no one lives on the land.

“As long as it’s what we call contiguous — that it meets up to our borders, which County I is — (that) we can service it with electric, sewer and water with our utility person, and that it meets our long-term plan,” Wills said. “It’s kind of a three-point test for that, which this property certainly would.”

Because Oconto County’s population is less than 50,000, the annexation would not even need to be reviewed by the state Department of Administration.

The school district does need to obtain an updated legal description of the land, because it’s in the process of selling 10.1 acres to the city for a new electric substation. Superintendent Dean Hess said the new description should be ready in time for the board to approve a petition for annexation when it meets Jan. 9, and the City Council would have it to consider Jan. 10.

Board member Ken Harter said it’s his understanding that Stiles town officials have no objection to the annexation, but he asked if the town plays any role in the process. Wills said any comment could be made at a required public hearing.

If all goes smoothly, the annexation would be completed in February or March, Wills said.

Meanwhile, a newly formed design team was scheduled to meet for the first time on Dec. 13, to work on the actual design of the new middle school. The team — comprised of staff, parents, administration and a school board member — is expected to gather input and feedback from various user groups, Hess said.

Board president Clint Gardebrecht said his work schedule might make it difficult to attend every design team meeting, so he asked vice president Bryan Baumler to represent the school board on the design team. He encouraged his fellow board members to be active in the various user groups.

“I think it’s important to have as much board involvement where anyone wants to in those other user group sessions, whether it’s athletics or maintenance … or anything where board members have expertise or interest,” Gardebrecht said. “I think we should have our fingerprints on the referendum work for the middle school as much as possible.”