The Shawano County Parks Department is working toward making itself self-sufficient and tax levy-free, while the committee that oversees its operations could see a change next year.
The rules committee Sept. 16 agreed to move the oversight of the parks department from the highway and parks committee to the public property committee effective Jan. 1, 2027. The change is contingent on approval by the county board.
County Board Chairman Tom Kautza said he was given a suggestion that the parks department should answer to the public property committee but not to the maintenance department, which handles the maintenance concerns for the eight county parks.
“It stays its own separate entity,” Kautza said. “In years past, there was always a little rift between who was doing what at parks when it came to winterization and everything else.”
With the change, the two department heads would be in the same room during the same meeting and hear the same information.
Supervisor Rick Giese said many parks projects ended up being approved by the highway and parks and the public property committees.
“It needs to come together,” he said.
Supervisor Terry Tipton said that a lot of the dirty work like grass cutting and brush pickup needs more direction and focus on seeing it gets completed.
“It’s not as well taken care of as it should be,” he said.
Nick Hesse, the facilities management director, said it’s a matter of who is in charge.
“Somebody’s got to drive to the campsites, make them nice at all these other outlying parks. Could make more then,” he said. “There’s no drive to make anything nicer as of right now. It’s the baseline — get it done; that’s good enough.”
Keith Marquardt, the current parks director, is reportedly considering retirement. He was on vacation and not at the meeting.
Nichole Zuehl, finance director, reminded the committee that the overall goal is to have the parks department self-sufficient when it comes to the annual county budget.
“The levy they requested is down this year,” she said. “We’re heading in that direction.”
Converting the parks director’s office into a short-term summer rental unit will help with that self-sufficiency.
Julie Hasser, human resources director, said there are other ways to do that as well, including offering more services coupled with appropriate rates.
“I think there’s a lot of really great opportunities,” Hasser said. “We jut need somebody with that mindset of running it more like a business in certain aspects.”
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