Committee seeks agreement for Big Eau Pleine aerators
A proposal to purchase new aeration equipment for the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir faced questions last week from Marathon County supervisors who want something in writing about the longterm maintenance and upkeep of the fish-protecting system.
Members of the Human Resources, Finance and Capital Committee endorsed a proposal to pay for the aerator upgrades with $175,000 from the Environmental Impact Fund, but they made it contingent on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the county and other partners involved in protecting the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir.
The Conservation, Planning and Zoning (CPZ) Department requested the aerator funds on behalf of a coalition that includes the Wisconsin DNR, Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company (WVIC) and the Big Eau Pleine Citizens Organization (BEPCO). Together, these groups monitor the reservoir’s water quality, keep track of the fishery and make improvements to the watershed.
Committee members want assurances that, once the purchased equipment is transferred to the DNR, it will be operated, maintained and insured by parties other than the county – as is the case with the current system.
Chairman John Robinson said $175,000 is a “significant investment,” and the county should know ahead of time what its obligations will be in the future if more upgrades are needed.
“I think we need some certainty into what the roles and responsibilities of the parties are going forward,” he said. “The time to have that meaningful conversation would be now.”
In 2008, due to budget cuts, the county transferred ownership of the aerators to the DNR, which operates and maintains them in conjunction with WVIC staff. For decades, it’s taken a group effort to keep the aging system going, with significant financial contributions from each of the coalition members.
County conservationist Kirstie Heindenreich said the plan is to transfer the ownership of any newly purchased components to the DNR because the county doesn’t want to own them.
Al Niebur, a Wausau-based fisheries manager for the DNR, confirmed that the agency is prepared to take ownership of the new equipment and provide insurance, just as it does for the existing equipment.
Heindenreich said the coalition members have updated a memorandum of agreement (MOA), which spells out the annual contributions each party makes toward the operation and maintenance of the aerators – but it does not mention the new equipment to be purchased. She said the MOA has been left unsigned in case the parties want to change the terms before the system components are replaced.
“So, what’s in there is what has always been done,” she said. “It’s nothing new at all.”
Robinson and other committee members said they would like a separate written agreement that directly addresses the future maintenance and upkeep of the new equipment.
If the funding request is approved, the plan is to hire an engineer for an estimated $25,000 to go over the equipment options this year, with the goal of hiring contractors this summer and installing new blowers, motors and electrical controls by 2024. Heindenreich said the CPZ is also planning to apply for a DNR grant that could possibly lower the county’s costs.
Even though the county is being asked to foot the entire bill for the new equipment, Heindenreich said the DNR, WVIC and BEPCO spend thousands of dollars every year to help maintain a resource that greatly benefits the county through recreational tourism. Ben Niffenegger, senior environ-mental specialist at WVIC, said his organization has spent an estimated $100,000 on electricity for the aerators since 2000, and over the past 10 years, wages for WVIC staff have exceeded $165,000 for operating the system and doing water quality testing.
Altogether, the WVIC estimates it has spent close to $280,000 over the past decade on the operation and maintenance of the aerator system.
“You can basically double this number for the past 20 years for ongoing maintenance,” Niffenegger told the committee.
DNR staff spends about 340 hours per year working on the aerators, costing the agency about $21,000 annually when supply costs are added in. In addition, the cost of accessing the aeration station is in the thousands due to the heavy-duty snow removal required.
Another contributor to the reservoir is BEPCO, which raised close to $24,000 for aerator upgrades in 2010 and obtained a $25,000 lake management grant in 2014 to develop strategies for preventing fish kills. Volunteers from the group also donated hundreds of hours on the 2010 upgrade, and they take responsibility for hooking up the aerator lines every winter.
“BEPCO has been instrumental in keeping the aerators working,” Heidenreich said.
Marathon County itself paid about $28,000 toward the 2010 upgrades and it annually contributes $500 toward the electrical bills, which equates to three days of operation.
Niffenegger said the current aeration system constantly leaks oil and is in danger of failing, so getting replacement parts is an urgent need.
“If conditions are dire, whether that’s this year or next year, and there is a fish kill, there is a potential that the aeration system may not work,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of fingers pointed at that time, and those fingers will be pointed at WVIC, Wisconsin DNR, Marathon County and BEPCO.”
Other business
n The committee recommended approval of the Westside Master Plan, which includes a list of projects for Marathon Park, the UW-SP campus and other county-owned land in that area. Each individual project will still have to go through the capital improvement process, and not all of the recommendations will necessarily come to fruition. One proposal in particular, building a new ice arena, relies on the highway department relocating from its current location on West Street.
n The committee recommended approval of a $500,000 budget transfer to install a box culvert on CTH KK near Nine Mile Park.
n The committee recommended approval of a charter establishing an energy task force, which will look at ways of reducing energy costs within county operations. The goal of the task force, which will include representatives from multiple committees, is to come up with possible capital improvement projects to be completed in 2024.
n Committee members discussed changing the county’s annual budgeting process so that the full county board would be informed as early as April about the following year’s proposed revenues and expenditures. The reformed process would provide information about mandatory versus non-mandatory spending and allow more time for supervisors to propose amendments.
