County supervisors agree to NTC property transfer 
by Mark Berglund
The Star News
September 24, 2009 —  The Taylor County Board of Supervisors took a big step toward the promise of a Green Institute as a joint meeting of the Finance, Land Information, and Building, Grounds and Parks Committee on Friday approved a memorandum of understanding with Northcentral Technical College to give the school the current Ag Service Center and 9.25 acres for the development of the concept. The offices currently housed in the Ag Service Center would then move to the current Northcentral Technical College building. NTC rents its current building from Taylor County. The buildings are part of the former University of Wisconsin Center at the intersection of College and Donald streets in the City of Medford.
Led by NTC President Dr. Lori Weyers and Facilities Manager Robert Elliott Jr., the supervisors received the background on the Green Institute plan including a site map of where changes would happen on the property and what portions of the property would be needed.
The property transfer and Green Institute will remain a concept until the third leg of the governmental agency stool falls into place. NTC will be requesting funds from the federal Economic Development Agency after October 1 to complete the project. With the county’s gift of an estimated $2 million in land and building, and a commitment from NTC to spend approximately the same amount on new buildings, renovations to the ag building and renovations to the property. The federal input is expected to be a similar amount and Weyers said the project is only possible if all three partners commit to it. “The key to getting this [federal] money is have the match commitment from the county,” Weyers said.
Weyers said the school is not interested in any value the timber of the campus woods area would have and suggested that part of the swap be handled by the county. The county would continue to hold most of the wooded and wetland property south of the buildings where the campus trail makes its loop. The county property extends to CTH O.
Because the time table for development awaits the possible grant, Taylor County will continue to budget and plan for upkeep of the current buildings in its upcoming 2010 budget. If the move should occur, money originally allocated for maintenance could then be used to cover the building switch and any remodeling the county would need to do in the new home for the ag service center occupants. The county’s land conservation department, University of Wisconsin-Extension, the Pi-Ru-TA office and federal USDA offices are occupants of the current ag service center.
According to the NTC figures, the ag service center has approximately 12,000 square feet of usable room while its current home has approximately 19,000 square feet of usable space.
The memorandum was approved on a voice vote by the committee members, which numbered eight of the 17 county board supervisors. Attending the meeting were committee members Fred Parent, Chuck Zenner, Jim Seidl, Mary Bix, Joe Sweda, Lester Lewis, David Krug and county board chairman Jim Metz. Committee members Allen Beadles and Diane Albrecht did not attend the meeting. The full board will act on the recommendation at its October 28 meeting. In addition to the four committees on the agenda, Friday’s collection of board members also represented quorums of the Executive, Extension, Committee on Committees and Rules, Personnel, Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, and Education Committees.
Elliot and Weyers took the supervisors through the timeline of the project. NTC came to the full county board earlier this year with a proposal to take over both of the present buildings to create a logistics campus of excellence. The move would have left the county with no home for the departments housed in the ag service center, so NTC moved on to the Green Institute concept and the building swap plan. Weyers said the school is sensitive to the local wishes to keep as much of the campus woods and trails and the community gardens at the property intact and she hopes Friday’s meeting is the start of meaningful dialogue between the partners. The school is committed to making the new building, a 20,400 square foot addition to the west of what would become the new NTC building and the existing building models of alternate energy use and efficiency. The green building techniques and materials would add to the school’s cost, taking it from the normal estimate of $40 to $80 per square foot to as much as $160 per square foot. If the plans succeed, the price tag for the campus update is estimated at $5,830,000. The school has been successful in obtaining EDA in the past as it was a key ingredient in developing a forestry-centered campus in Langlade County.
Weyers said the campus expansion and update was important to the school and local economic vitality of the community.
In addition to the the new building, a greenhouse and an equipment storage building, the plan call for a 50-vehicle space expansion and joining of the two parking lots between the facilities and an outdoor landscape management classroom. The school hopes horticulture, landscaping and greenskeeping will be major components of the new institute and the outdoor classroom would include building two simulated golf course holes south of the the buildings in what is now the campus woods. Under the plan unveiled Friday, the school plans to relocate and reconnect the campus trail in the affected area. Steve Oberle, the head of the county’s Land Conservation Department asked about the feasibility of using the nearby Tee-Hi Golf Course as a demonstration area as an alternative to Friday’s plan. “I appreciate your sensitivity to the trail, but do you need to take out all those trees for a two hole golf course,” Oberle asked.
School officials noted the use conflicts between golfers and students as one of the major obstacles to teaching classes at Tee-Hi. Weyers emphasized the outdoor classroom is a learning and not a playing area. “I don’t want the newspaper going back and writing this is a golf course. It is a green management learning center,” she said.
Herb Archibald, a member of the Friends of the Campus Trail group, suggested the school also consider another city golf course in its plans. He said indications are the Black River Golf Course will expand from nine to 18 holes in the coming years and he wondered if it would be an opportunity for the school. “The campus woods is a precious resource. It is the only parkland on the south side of Medford. Some of the trees are 75 to 100 years old,” Archibald said.
School officials said they had no interest in putting resources into the development of any golf course and Metz echoed the sentiment. “I don’t think the county is looking to build a golf course. We are here for education and that’s our main purpose today,” he said.
Supervisors asked a number of questions about the plan and process.
Taylor County is on the western edge of 10-county Northcentral Technical College district, which is centered at Wausau. The majority of the county’s population lives in the NTC district, with the City of Medford, villages of Stetsonville and Rib Lake, and towns of Westboro, Browning, Chelsea, Deer Creek, Goodrich, Greenwood, Hammel, Holway, Little Black, and portions of the towns of Grover and Maplehurst in the district. Chippewa Valley Technical College covers the western portions of the county with the Village of Gilman and towns of Aurora, Ford, Jump River, McKinley, Pershing, Roosevelt and Taft and portions of Grover and Maplehurst falling into those district boundaries. Of the 17 county supervisors, five represents areas with CVTC property taxpayers.
Supervisors received a 9-page summary of the plan. The program summary reads “Northcentral Technical College (NTC) believes that the Taylor County community is prepared to be a center of excellence in renewable and alternative energies. From the natural resources found on the area’s industrious dairy and mink farms, to the
dense woods and forests skirting various communities, to the wide pastures with intense sunshine and changing winds, to the determination of business and industry to be environmentally conscience. All of these qualities provide a ready backdrop as NTC discovers the opportunities for training workers in solar, wind, photovoltaic, organic, and biotechnology careers.
The Green Institute will be an NTC campus that provides current information and training of green technologies, horticulture and transportation. Programming will lead to credentials, provide information through short-term workshops, and build a greater understanding and appreciation for the environment and community.
This state-of-the-art facility will use renewable and alternative energy concepts in its renovation and construction. The design will incorporate energy efficient measures to support operational costs, as well as serve as an example for renewable/alternative energy programming to students and the community. The latest technology will be incorporated to provide learners with quality instruction and business partners with customized training to support strategic goals and objectives.
The grounds will develop, protect, and maintain habitats natural to the Taylor County area. NTC’s horticulture program will support native grasses, walking trail, landscaping, outdoor greenskeeping learning lab and greenhouse on the campus. NTC will initiate collaboration with the area’s Master Gardeners to enhance the grounds and provide instructional opportunities. These eco-friendly components will complement the existing woodlands and provide a learning component to students and community members.
Instruction will be flexible and accessible and offered by several methodologies including face-to-face instruction, interactive television, online, correspondence, and net meeting. Career pathways will lay the foundation for learners to master required skills and obtain knowledge in modules that lead to job placement and/or degree attainment.
NTC is in the process of researching and developing pertinent programs that incorporate and integrate green technologies with knowledge and skills that will positively impact its various business and industry partners. With rural Wisconsin surrounding the Medford campus, it is the prime location for alternative and renewable energy programming.
The Green Institute’s resource center will provide pertinent information related to earth-friendly concepts and programs. This area will incorporate information targeted at individuals, families, and businesses throughout the county. A collection of publications and online resources will be available to K-12 schools, community organizations, clubs, and businesses so that each can research, learn, and experience ways they can make a positive carbon imprint on their neighborhoods.
NTC will initiate a partnership with the Taylor County Cooperative Extension to offer examples and workshops to community members dedicated to recycling opportunities, composting, rain barrel collection, weatherization, energy conservation awareness, green cleaning, and farmers’ markets.
Educational seminars and programs will support homeowners and building industry professionals through information related to green construction practices, efficient energy use, biodiversity, energy and water conservation, solid waste reduction and recycling, biofuels, and alternative energy sources. Occupational programs will relate to green technologies. Sustainable energy practices will be integrated into technical programs to provide training for maintenance technicians, manufacturers, and engineers.
The Medford campus is ready to become a training hub for two significant industry sectors: transportation and natural resources. The Medford campus will also provide basic adult education, related business programming, and general education courses.
The need for over-the-road delivery is imperative to Wisconsin industries, whether receiving shipments from across the nation or transporting products around the world. NTC supports these transportation companies, whether individual truck owners or company fleets. There are significant ways that the transportation industry is proactively leading the charge to be more environmentally friendly. Finding ways to reduce air and noise pollution not only decreases its imprint, but also ultimately reduces costs associated with over-the-road trucking.
NTC is researching and developing a transportation program that will support logistics, supply chain management, and operations management. This program will provide information related to creating green fleets, reducing vehicle emissions, improving air quality, adopting progressive engine technologies, and finding low emission fuels. The programming will also help students choose best management practices and learn about quality vehicle maintenance, careful route planning, and sound driving practices. Topics discussed will include on-board idling reduction technologies, aerodynamics, and fuel-efficient single tires.
Horticulture: In light of Taylor County’s rich agricultural enterprises, NTC believes there is a need to support smaller-scale horticulture,including landscaping and greenskeeping. Research and curriculum development is underway as NTC develops programming to support these areas. NTC will incorporate sustainable energy practices into these credentials.
Landscaping is in high demand by businesses and homeowners alike. Beneficial landscaping, sometimes referred to as natural or native landscaping though it is more than that, contains a number of principles that revolve around balancing our needs and sense of beauty with those of nature (our ecosystems).
Programming may include protection of existing natural areas, selection of regionally native plants, reduction in the use of turf and pesticides, composting and mulching, practicing soil and water conservation, reduction in use and expense of power landscape equipment, use of plantings to reduce heating/cooling needs, avoidance of invasive exotics, and the creation of additional wildlife habitats. As landscaping can change the microclimate around a building by 20-25 degrees, concepts will be discussed to reduce air conditioning and heating needs/costs as well as increasing the value of homes. Students learning these practices will help in the development and maintenance of safer and quieter neighborhoods, water conservation, nature enjoyment, reduced strain on municipal waste collection and water treatment, and lower heating and cooling bills for homeowners and businesses.
Greenskeeping is necessary for golf course maintenance and is important to home, business, and sports field/Iawn maintenance. This program will discuss alternative ways to fertilize greens; add nutrients; develop uniformity, texture, graininess and trueness; seed varieties; use automatic water systems wisely; seed and mulch; and apply proper mowing practices including changing patterns, height, and visual inspection.
Agriculture programs will focus on biotechnology, green soil management, green nursery practices, green pest control, water quality, nutrient management, conservation tillage, ecosystems, safety, and organic farming. Environmental consciousness, or green practices, support effective management resources while reducing the carbon footprint.

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