County buys final piece of land needed for county shop

Marathon County has officially filled in the last piece of the puzzle for its proposed Highway Department headquarters in the village of Kronenwetter.

Last week, the county board voted unanimously to purchase a .58-acre of land from Eric and Ariel Scheftgen, who own a home at 2384 Old Highway 51 that is surrounded on three sides by land already purchased by the county for a new Highway shop.

The county agreed on a price of $375,000 for the parcel, and it also signed an occupancy agreement that will allow the Scheftgens to remain in their house through June 1, 2026, giving them about a year to find a new place to live.

With the county having previously purchased seven other parcels on the east side of Old Highway 51, across from the Weston Power Station, the Highway Department now has over 25 acres to work with as it plans to relocate its main facilities

from the current shop on West Street in Wausau.

The county has spent close to $1.9 million to purchase the parcels it needs for the facility, which is projected to cost as much as $41 million. According to the county, building a brand-new headquarters option will still be cheaper than rebuilding at the existing West Street site, which has been in use since the 1930s and no longer has room for expansions.