Highway shop faces potential roadblocks

By Kevin O’Brien

Four more parcels in the village of Kronenwetter are on their way to being purchased by Marathon County for a new Highway Department shop, but the county is now facing roadblocks from a proposed village ordinance that would create a 500-foot setback from any residential properties. One of those properties, located along Old Highway 51, belongs to Ariel Scheftgen and her husband Erick. Ariel came to an Infrastructure Committee meeting last week, pleading with county supervisors to see the situation from her perspective as someone who lives “smack dab in the middle” of the proposed shop site.

Ariel Scheftgen said they purchased their home with a Veterans Administration loan in 2022, and after being contacted by a realtor working for the county in April, they put together a counter-offer based on square footage, acreage and number of rooms. However, she said the process has been very stressful, leading to “exhaustion, loss of sleep, gaining weight.”

“We can’t afford to move. We love our home,” she said. “We keep continuing to improve it. We have $4,700 in windows that are ordered and can’t be returned.”

Last month, the county board voted to purchase three parcels of land to the north, south and east of the Scheftgens’ house, which has west-facing frontage along Old Business 51. Two of those parcels were owned by Wisconsin Public Service, and Scheftgen said they were under the impression that the land would never be developed.

Scheftgen said her family now worries that land along four sides of their house will be affected, either by buffer fences going up around the highway shop or a possible turn lane on Business 51 to control the increased traffic.

“We assume that if we had to stay, because we can’t afford to move, we would have a turn lane in our front yard,” she said. “I wanted to give you all this information just so you can know a little bit about the little person.”

Later in the meeting, Highway commissioner Jim Griesbach said the county has signed offers to purchase four parcels of land, all owned by one family, to the south of the vacant land bought by the county last month. The total cost of the four parcels, three of which have houses on them, is $750,000.

When combined with the three parcels purchased in April, which cost $794,715, the county would have a total of nearly 24 acres on which to build a new Highway Department headquarters. Griesbach said it would not be difficult for his department to demolish the existing homes on the properties if the land is purchased.

Meanwhile, county administrator Lance Leonhard said he spoke to Dave Baker, village president of Kronenewetter and former county board member, about some of the concerns the village has with being the potential home of the new Highway shop. He said his big takeaway was the importance of the county being a “good neighbor” to village residents and businesses.

Leonhard said he also spoke to Scheftgen about her concerns with the county buying up land around her house and trying to purchase her property as well.

“The process I think has been challenging for not only the county, but certainly from the perspective of the landowners,” he said, noting that the county has had to work through a realtor to ensure that the initial discussions were not made public.

Before the committee’s meeting, Leonhard said he also learned that Kronenwetter was considering a zoning amendment that would require a 500-foot buffer between the Highway facility and any residentially zoned properties.

The village’s planning commission voted May 1 to advance the zoning amendment, which will now go before a public hearing scheduled for May 19. If the planning commission recommends approval following the hearing, the village board is likely to vote on it at the end of the month.

If the 500-foot setback were to be implemented, Leonhard said it be would “very challenging” for the county to develop the Highway facility it needs within those constraints. Greisbach has said that owning the entire 25-plus acres of land in that area would allow for the best site layout with minimal blind spots for vehicle drivers.

Corporation counsel Michael Puerner said the parcels under consideration would not need to be rezoned under the village’s current zoning code, which allows a public utility building in any district, but that could change if the new setback rules are approved.

Besides engaging the village on a possible variance or rezoning of the residential properties, Leonhard said the county is also working with the Scheftgen family to come up with a solution to their concerns. He said they are exploring options to help the family find a new home or to relocate the house itself.

“I can absolutely guarantee you that we will bring you something for the county board to ultimately consider,” he told committee members. “I think we have some good options at this point. Some of that does depend on the village.”

TIGHT FIT- The layout option pictured above is what Marathon County would be able to build for a new Highway Department headquarters, under existing setbacks, with the roughly 18 acres of land it has already purchased. The county has signed offers to purchase the four residential properties on the south end of the site, but the homeowners on the western edge along Old Business 51 have expressed reservations about selling their home to the county.

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