Petitioners hope to rescue Vet’s Park

CONTROVERSY IN MARATHON CITY

446 sign petition document

Joe Buchberger, owner of Arrow Tap, a Marathon City tavern, and his brother, Larry, on Friday submitted to village officials a petition signed by 446 people to “save Veterans Park” on Fourth Street.

The submission of the petition follows a discussion last week Wednesday where the two argued that the village’s old ball diamond and buildings used for Fun Days, the village’s annual fall celebration, should be preserved.

Joe Buchberger told board members he and the petitioners were not opposed to developing a new softball/baseball complex along CTH NN on the east side of the village, but that the current Veterans Park, a central green space in the village, was part of village tradition and should be retained.

The Buchbergers said they worried about the future of a Knock MS Out of the Park softball tournament they sponsor annually at the current Veterans Park. The proposed new softball/baseball complex will offer youth league diamonds, but not an adult sized softball diamond. The Buchbergers said they could move their tournament to the Marathon Sports Center, where there is an adult softball diamond, but fretted that such a move could cut into the amount the tournament will be able to raise for charity.

In discussion with board members, they argued that resizing one of the diamonds at the new softball/baseball complex was a practical alternative.

Village administrator Andy Kurtz, however, disagreed, saying that a larger adult softball field would increase the cost of lighting, which was already “very expensive.” The village faces challenges in raising enough money for the $3.6 million project, he said, especially given inflated building supply prices.

Kurtz said the project is currently stalled as the Wisconsin DNR rewrites a $450,000 grant contract to include a federally mandated Buy American provision. The project, bid out in April, now must be rebid, he said. The DNR grant represents 20 percent of the project cost estimate.

Joe Buchberger said the Village of Marathon City had a shortage of parks and would sorely miss a central ball park where parents and grandparents can walk to a diamond to see young people play softball.

“It is part of Marathon’s identity,” he said.

Larry Buchberger said any new ballfield needed to provide all athletes with a place to play. He said that softball and baseball participation has increased and decreased over the years. A new facility, he said, had to accommodate these changes.

“Bottom line, I’m a Marathon guy,” he said. “I want something better than what Edgar has. I say that if we are going to do it, we should do it right.”

Kurtz said sale of the current Veterans Park for $750,000 was critical to paying for the new softball/baseball complex. The village, he said, was in negotiation with S.C. Swiderski to buy the property for apartments. If the village were to keep the current Veterans Park, Kurtz said, the village would have two softball complexes to maintain. The village, too, would forgo taxes from housing built on the current Veterans Park ballfield. The Buchbergers posed 10 written questions to the village about the softball/baseball complex project which Kurtz answered: softball complex would offer double the parking that the current Veterans Park does. He said the new complex parking lot, which is sized for 211 cars, would offer space for the Marathon Fun Days carnival and 65 handicapped/senior parking spots. Two-hundred and fifty parking spots will be available at Marathon Area Elementary School as well as on-street parking, he said.

n Kurtz said that the new softball/ baseball complex would be safer than the current Veterans Park diamond. He said that commercial traffic on Fourth Street has increased significantly over the last several years and that, while there has not been a serious accident near the present ballfield, “there have been a lot of close calls” between vehicles and pedestrians.

Village trustee Connie Ruplinger said she worried about young people chasing after foul balls on Fourth Street at the current diamond and being struck by a car.

Kurtz said the village has asked the Marathon County Highway Department to reduce traffic speeds near the new softball/baseball complex entry from 55 mph to 35 mph.

n Kurtz said the village considered artificial turf at the new softball/baseball complex but rejected it as too expensive. He said it currently takes village workers two and one-half hours to mow the grass at Veterans Park. That task will take seven hours at the new softball/baseball complex. The extra labor cost will be $1,300 per year, he said.

n The administrator said the softball/ baseball complex parcel is 16 acres, but nine of those acres are wetlands and cannot be developed.

n Kurtz said the village will consider construction of the new baseball/ softball complex in phases, building two fields now and two fields later. The construction schedule depends on fundraising. The village board, he said, has pledged that no village taxes will be used to pay for the complex.

Joe Buchberger said many area residents have a “sour taste” when it comes to losing the current Veterans Park. He said a decision to sell the park came as a shock to residents.

Kurtz said the park has been discussed at various village board meetings. Board members said that, to date, no group has come to the village board to object to the Veterans Park proposal.

Buchberger acknowledged that his comments were a bit tardy. “We are late to the party,” he said.

Kurtz thanked both Buchbergers for bringing their concerns to the village. “Tradition is a wonderful thing and change is hard,” he said. “We are trying to make the best decision we can.”

In other village board business:

n Board members authorized administrator Kurtz to get bids on a Dodge Durango as a new police squad car. Cost of the vehicle will likely be in the $35,000 to $39,000 range. Kurtz said the waiting period to get a new squad car is about 12 months.

n Board members voted to replace damaged flooring in the Marathon Municipal Building community room with a vinyl product from Marathon Flooring for $7,000. Cost of tile and epoxy coatings were about double this price, it was said.

n Board members agreed to spend up to $500 on dust control on village streets.

n The village board voted to annex a parcel from the town of Stettin into the village.

n Administrator Kurtz said he is in conversation with both the state DOT and DNR in dealing with graffiti underneath the Big Rib River bridge. He said he is unsure whether the DOT will allow the village to remove the graffiti on its bridge. He said he is also unsure of what chemicals can be used to remove the graffiti given its proximity to the Big Rib River.

n It was announced the Marathon Fire Department has received an American Rescue Plan Act grant to purchase defibrillators. It was also announced the Marathon Legion Post, Marathon Legion Auxiliary and Marathon Lions Club purchased 60 new flags for Main Street.

n Kurtz said the new baseball/