METRO BRiEFS

Residents received fi lters in April to fi lter out PFAS from the city water.

FILTERING dissent

Residents are asking for fi lter replacements — turns out the city already has some

Residents have been asking city offi cials about getting more fi lters to help fi lter PFAS from city water — but now city offi cials say they’ve already got some left over from residents not claiming theirs.

Th e city’s Finance Committee directed staff to separate fi lters from some 2,000 pitchers that haven’t been claimed by city residents from the initial order. More than 4,000 people did claim their pitchers.

Th e city used pandemic relief dollars to purchase pitchers and fi lters for residents as a temporary way to fi lter PFAS from city water. Th e city announced in January that all six of the city’s wells tested higher than 20 parts per trillion in PFAS, which is the new recommendation from the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Health Services.

Finance Committee Chair Lisa Rasmussen says the latest news from Public Works is that the new drinking water facility will fi lter out PFAS to levels below 20 parts per trillion, meeting new recommendations from the state. PFAS can have harmful eff ects on human health. But not so fast, says City Council President Becky McElhaney. Many residents have contacted her saying they haven’t gotten their pitchers, waiting months for them. Many of the emails apparently have gone to spam folders, and some residents who don’t use the internet aren’t sure how they’re supposed to be notifi ed at all, McElhaney says. City leaders should be working on reaching out again to residents to get fi lters. In the meantime, residents received a spare fi lter with their pitchers and those fi lters will be separated to be used as replacement fi lters for those who need it. Th e city can order more, and Finance Director Maryanne Groat says new ones could be ordered and delivered pretty quickly.

From the Attorney’s Desk

by Jason Krautkramer, J.D.

ECKERT & KRAUTKRAMER, LLC

325 N. 1st Ave., Suite 1 • Wausau,630 N. 4th St., Wausau, WI 54403 WI 715-842-0907 • jason@eckertlawllc.com

Trust Funding: Real Estate

For your residence or other real estate and associated property interests such as mineral or timber rights, you should enlist the help of an attorney to properly identify the interests and prepare, sign, and record deeds that transfer those interests into your trust. It is crucial you fully understand any property tax or other legal implications that may result from such a transfer.

Generally speaking, the property insurance should be retitled in the name of the Trust. If your property is encumbered by a mortgage, you may need the lender’s approval. Some lenders might not agree to a new loan on property in a trust. If rental property is conveyed to your Trust, all future rental payments should be made to the Trustee of the Trust. You should check your next tax bill and any documentation regarding exemptions you receive to ensure that any previously granted exemptions still apply.

Affordable housing project delayed after tax credit falls through

Gorman and Company’s proposal for an aff ordable housing complex on the city-owned Westside Battery property has been delayed, city offi cials announced last week.

Th e reason? Tax credits.

Gorman and Company needed the tax credits to make the fi nances behind the project work. Th e company proposed last year to build a 50-unit, four-story building on the property. Gorman’s proposal was chosen over one from mall redevelopment company Wausau Opportunity Zone, which proposed to leave the property empty.

Th e city announced earlier this year that Gorman would receive $1.75 million as part of the state’s Neighborhood Investment Fund (the Community Partners Campus would get $1.5 million, according to that same announcement).

City Community Development Director Liz Brodek says Gorman started applying too late in the game because of the timing of the RFP, so they weren’t able to get the tax credit from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority they needed to make the project work. Gorman will apply again in September, and expects with more time they will be able to get the credits.

Developing the Westside Battery and former L&S Printing site has been a challenge for the city. A plan to turn it into a restaurant for food truck business Urban Street Bistro fell through because of fi nancing, and a plan by the owners of Sixth Street Filling Station was withdrawn because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Th e city has owned the property since 2016.

City approves loans for two west side projects

City leaders last week approved rehabilitation loans for two diff erent projects — one an improvement of a near west-side pub and another for a neighborhood transformation.

Wausau’s Economic Development Committee last week approved an $82,000 commercial rehabilitation project for 101 Pub. Owner Matt Brewer, whose new ownership of the pub and plans for it were covered in City Pages last year, plans a patio/beer garden area outside the pub. Th e loan represents about 14% of the project.

Th e committee also approved a $114,000 loan for a neighborhood rehabilitation area along Th ird Avenue. Project developer Tyler Vogt, owner of Malarkey’s Pub, has been working on the former cafe at the site for years, and plans improvements in that area as well. Replacing the brickwork is part of that redevelopment. Th e building will also have rooftop seating, Vogt told the committee.

Th e city hasn’t had an application for a commercial rehabilitation loan for three years, says Community Development Manager Tammy Stratz. Th e program is a revolving loan fund, so borrowers pay back with interest, which grows the fund for future projects to borrow from. Committee Member Lisa Rasmussen says that means it doesn’t use any new money from the tax levy.

Marathon County tourism rebounded in 2021

It might not be much of a surprise considering the previous year was the start of COVID-19 pandemic, but tourism and the economy rebounded in Marathon County, according to a report from the state’s tourism arm.

Marathon County visitor spending grew 20.5% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the State Department of Tourism’s 2021 Economic Impact Report. Th at lagged the state, which saw a 31.1% increase in tourist spending.

Th e county saw only a 3% increase in jobs, compared to the state’s 12.9% increase, and a 12.9% increase in labor income, slightly outpacing the state’s increase of 12.7%.

Sauk County saw the biggest visitor spending increase, 54.4% over 2020. Sauk County has the Wisconsin Dells and Baraboo, with a major hiking/rock climbing destination. Th e smallest increase was in Rusk County, which saw a 14% increase.

Portage County increased 21% year over year, Lincoln County increased 21.2% and Wood County increased 21.9%.

Th e Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau went most of 2021 without a director and without contracts in place with area municipalities. Th ose contracts were restored after the CVB hired its new director, Tim White.

Mall developer releases further details on fi rst development, still no timeline

Mall developer Wausau Opportunity Zone released further details about the fi rst mall development, but not on when construction would start.

WOZ says the fi rst development in

block 4, which is south of Washington Street and east of Third Street, will be completed by T.Wall Enterprise. The Madison firm will invest $44 million into the initial phase and start with the first mixed-use development on the site. Ultimately that block will have more than 500 downtown units of housing.

The 7.5-acre site will have — in addition to housing — retail, dining, green space and bike paths. It will also involve city investment into the street infrastructure.

But when that will start is still up in the air. No construction start date has been announced.

Do wolves improve oak tree chances?

Cornell University researchers are looking into whether oak tree populations, seen as desirable in forest management plans, do better when whitetail deer populations are kept in check by predators such as wolves. And two of their research sites are planned for Marathon County.

Suspicion regarding the research came from Mike Lane of Mosinee, chair of the Marathon County Forest Citizens Advisory Sub-committee, at a meeting of the body June 8. Lane, who represents hunting interests on the sub-committee, says he thinks the research is aimed at making a case for allowing higher wolf populations in the state. “This is a scam,” he said, but county staff already approved the research and it’s underway, probably for two years.

The professor spearheading the research, Bernd Blossy, denies any pro-wolf bias. He says his goal is to add to the scientific knowledge of whether wolves “drive” deer populations and whether high deer numbers interfere with hardwood forest regeneration.

County Forest Administrator Tom Lovlien says the two Marathon County sites of the 50 sites in Wisconsin will each have 40 oak tree seedlings that will be monitored for the first year of their lives to see how many are killed by browsing deer. One site will be at the Hewitt- Harrison County Forest and the other at Nine Mile County Forest and Recreation Area. (P.P.)

Nearing an OK for fat bikes in snow

Assuming approval at the July 5 meeting of the Marathon County Forest and Recreation Committee, there will be a trial season for fat-biking at Nine Mile County Forest and Recreation Area over the winter of 2022-23.

Endorsement of the experiment hit a bump at the June 8 meeting of the Marathon County Forest Citizens Advisory Sub-Committee. Skepticism of the idea came from Sandi Cihlar, a former county board supervisor who describes herself as an avid snowshoeing grandmother. She said she was snowshoeing last winter when someone on a fat bike suddenly appeared behind her group. It was more frightening, she says, than the time she spotted a bear while out on the trail. She never wants to repeat that.

Approval came, though, on a 6-2 vote, earning the gratitude of Aaron Ruff, president of the Central Wisconsin Off-Road Cycling Coalition (CWOCC). Ruff says it’s the question members ask him the most, “When are we going to be able to ride in the snow at Nine Mile?”

County Forest Administrator Tom Lovlien says he estimates support for winter fat-biking to be about 85% among the varied users at the property. Concerns are mixing snowshoers and bikers and, for Nordic skiers, the chance that bikers would stray from designated trails and damage crosscountry ski tracks.

Ruff says he realizes if there are problems, fat bikes could be banned after the trial season. He pledges a big effort at education and signage at the club’s expense. Less than a quarter-mile of the fat bike trails would follow the same route as a snowshoe trail, Ruff says, and the plan is to have those two trails run parallel to avoid messing up the ski trail.

Ruff said the fat bike season won’t start without groomable snow and would likely coincide with when Nordic skiing opens. (P.P.) Additional reporting this week came from freelancer and retired City Pages staffer Pat Peckham.

A women rides her fat bike at Nine Mile during a race. The county will try out allowing fat bikes at Nine Mile next winter as part of a trial.

GENERAL LABOR

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