By Rich Palzewic
Staff Writer
SEYMOUR – A preliminary discussion on the Behrendt Park Estates development took place at the Seymour city council meeting Monday, June 8.
With discussions dating back a year or more, the council reviewed a plan commission recommendation for the Behrendt Park Estates project located by Elm Lane, Foote Street and Behrendt Park Drive.
The development would include residential and multi-family units.
Rezoning would be necessary for a portion of the property because it’s currently zoned R-1 single family.
“These are very preliminary discussions,” said Mayor Ryan Kraft. “There is no set timetable, and it will require more meetings, revisions and planning before anything would come to fruition.”
Kraft said the city receives calls from individuals looking for desirable lots, but there aren’t many available.
“The developments that have been done are almost filled, and if lots are still available, there’s a reason for that,” he said. “This would be close to a park, away from heavily-traveled areas and have woods nearby. Those types of lots don’t exist in the city because they’ve been built on or we don’t have any additional developments going on.”
Alder Alex Tetzlaff mentioned the potential opportunity.
“The mayor made a great point in saying we’d need to somehow tie the single-family dwelling lots to the development of the multi-family dwelling project,” he said. “The understanding would be the multi-family dwellings would have to fill before they move on to other sections. It would fund the rest of the project to a point. I think it’s an opportunity to have some great lots in the city for families who want to move in.”
Tetzlaff said a couple of types of multi-family dwellings are being proposed, including condo- and 10-plexes, which would be similar to the ones in Centennial Centre in Hobart.
“They are higher end,” he said. “The developer had the same situation in Shawano with a five-year plan to fill them, and they were filled in two years. He’s done his homework, and it seems like the right move for us. We have things to work on, including how would we market this to the rest of the city.”
Coming out of the planning commission meeting, Tetzlaff said he wasn’t sure Seymour needed more multi-family dwellings.
“It wasn’t in my thought process,” he said. “However, I’ve talked to people who don’t want to take care of their houses anymore, and they want to have a place to live where the residence is taken care of. I honestly think it would be a great thing.”
In other action, the council approved the hiring of Blake Main as a full-time police officer for the Seymour Police Department, contingent upon Main passing the psychological test and background check.
“I’d like to recognize and thank (police) chief (Isaac) Schultz and his department for everything they do for our community,” Kraft said. “In light of everything we are seeing in the media and going on throughout our country, it’s disturbing to see the level of respect in regards to law enforcement. We run a lean and small department – we have to – and I think Isaac is doing an admirable job during his first year as chief, especially with COVID going on. He has the full support of the mayor and the council.”