Land purchase OK’d for forensic center

By Kevin O’Brien

Marathon County supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of purchasing land and hiring a pathologist for a new forensic science center (regional morgue) in Wausau.

The two resolutions were passed without any debate after they were previously discussed last week. At the board’s April 16 organizational meeting, county administrator Lance Leonhard said a task force formed back in 2017 came up with the plans for the regional forensic science center as something “more than a morgue.”

Task force members worked with Wipfli to do a feasibility study and eventually developed a business plan to serve the county’s own needs while also addressing the lack of forensic pathologists in the larger area.

The county will pay Northcentral Technical College $400,000 for 2.62 acres of land on its Wausau campus, and in exchange, NTC will provide an equal amount of technology for the $14.8 million facility. Before the center opens in 2025, the county plans to hire a forensic pathologist as the chief medical examiner, at an estimated annual salary of $323,800.

Other business

n The board approved an additional $20,000 for a gap analysis to be performed on the county’s opioid addiction programs. The board had originally budgeted $50,000 from a legal settlement to pay for the study, but the only proposal that met all of the county’s requirements will cost $70,000, according to county staff.

n At the organizational meeting last week, District 32 supervisor Kurt Gibbs, town of Cassel, was reelected as the board chairman, and District 29 supervisors Chris Dickinson, Stratford, was elected vice-chairman.

n The new board voted to change the county board meeting time from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m., which will be in effect for next educational meeting on Thursday, May 16, and the regular business meeting on Tuesday, May 21.