$30 million in reserves sought for Hwy shop

With over 25 acres of land purchased in the village of Kronenwetter and schematic designs in the works for a new Highway Department headquarters, Marathon County’s Infrastructure Committee is recommending the county designate $30 million in reserve funds for building the proposed facility.

At its latest meeting last Thursday, the committee endorsed a pair of resolutions presented by Chris Holman, deputy administrator of capital projects, one of which states that the Highway Department has “sufficient reserve funds available” to help pay for the design and construction of a new shop.

Holman said the resolution does not authorize the county to spend any money, but for accounting purposes, it does formally commit the $30 million for the new headquarters, which is estimated to cost as much as $41 million.

“County staff will seek authorization for the utilization of these funds as each major phase of the planning and design process for a new highway facility progresses,” the resolution states.

Supervisor Chris Dickinson said concerns have previously been raised about where the money in the reserve fund came from and what it was intended for – especially when it relates to the county’s $25 wheel tax for road repairs – but he believes designating the $30 million is justified.

“It is a good financial decision to reduce the cost of borrowing,” he said.

A second resolution approved by the committee allocates up to $75,000 from the committed reserves for Phase 1 design services, part of which will go toward paying an unnamed firm that submitted the winning bid for writing schematic designs. Holman said the $29,500 bid was very reasonable for the work that will be done.

The remainder of the $75,000 will be used to hire a construction manager at risk (CMAR), a firm that will serve as a consultant and provide real-world cost estimates early in the process to minimize change orders in the future, Holman said.

The county spent close to $1.9 million to purchase the parcels it needs for the facility, which is to be built on the east side of Old Highway 51 across from the Weston Power Station. According to the county, building a brand-new headquarters will still be cheaper than rebuilding at the existing West Street site in Wausau, which has been in use since the 1930s and no longer has room for expansions.