SUAMICO VILLAGE BOARD
Tennis/pickleball project approved at Idlewild Park
A tennis/pickleball court reconstruction project at Idlewild Park was approved by the Village Board Monday, March 7.
The reconstruction of the park’s two tennis courts will involve having one tennis court and adding four pickleball courts.
The board voted 5-1 to award the project to low bidder MCC, at a cost not to exceed $171,000, with $20,000 coming from park impact fees and the $151,000 balance taken out of the village’s share of excess sales tax funds from the Lambeau Field stadium sales tax.
Trustee Dan Roddan, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said he preferred using the excess sales tax monies for other purposes than pickleball courts.
“Have we talked, even looked at, grants potentially, and/or working with the school district to put the pickleball courts there (at Bay Port) as a joint adventure?” Roddan asked.
Village Administrator Alex Kaker said the village hasn’t looked at locating pickleball courts at Bay Port High School, but grant opportunities have been looked at.
He said the board rejected the sole bid of $230,000 for the project last May, in the hope of rebidding the project in early 2022 to obtain a lower bid, which the village was able to get.
DE PERE SCHOOL BOARD
Gym resurfacing plans
The School Board awarded the high school gym floor resurfacing project totaling $52,100 to Stalker Flooring of New London when it met March 7.
The 22-year-old high school gymnasium floor will be sanded back to its original wood surface, and all pertinent lines and graphics will be updated, repainted and polished.
In a memo to the board, Pat Meyer, director of buildings and grounds, said depending on usage, floors generally get a full sanding and resurfacing every 10-15 years to restore the floor to like-new condition.
The last time the high school gym floor was resurfaced was in 2010, for $41,000.
The work is slated to take several weeks beginning July 17.
Digital art grant update
A 2022 Golden Apple award-winning art teacher at Foxview Intermediate School, Weeya Calif, updated the board on the Innovative Grant, which the board awarded to her in 2020 for her project, “Using iPads for Creating Digital Art.”
Through the grant, Calif was able to purchase several dozen stylus pens, 16 iPads, an Apple TV and 31 licenses to digital art software.
She said the program gives 300 sixth-graders per year a chance to create digital art and animations, as well as learn how to take photos of original art and upload it to their Google Drive and other programs.
“They learn to develop the research skills and build their technology skills across the board,” Calif wrote in her grant application. “This project will help foster 21st century learning skills that encourage both an appreciation for classical art, as well as an understanding of the ways digital art can be a part of their present and future lives.”
ASHWAUBENON PLAN COMMISSION
Rezoning request opposed
A request to rezone a former assisted living/nursing home to redevelop it into 76 market-rate apartment units did not receive support March 1 from the village’s Plan Commission.
Kevin Gracyalny, with Ruesch Gracyalny Properties, LLC, said the company requested rezoning the site from B-3 Community Business to R-3 Multi-Family Residence for a project to fill a niche in the housing market.
“There’s new construction buildings that are coming in, and these are at a higher price point, but they’re new,” he said. “What we want to do is offer a new comparable product that is going to be more price-competitive.
Because the area surrounding the site is zoned B-3, Trustee Gary Paul said he wouldn’t vote to change that.
Village President Mary Kardoskee said she’s concerned that “some of the units are quite small.”
“Although they are a one-bedroom (apartment) at $995 a month, they’re very small one-bedrooms,” she said. “I agree with Gary. I’m going to have a hard time rezoning this.”
Gracyalny said he understands the concerns expressed by commission members, but said something has to happen to the former San Luis Manor building at some point.
“This building is going to need a lot of work,” he said. “It needs a lot of money put into it.”
The commission unanimously recommended not approving the rezoning request.
It will now be forwarded to the Village Board for a public hearing, followed by approval or denial March 22.
This isn’t the first time plans for an apartment project have been derailed for this site.
Two years ago, plans to convert the property into 50-plus affordable apartment units known as The Gridiron were shelved.
A proposal was presented by representatives of St. John’s Homeless Shelter and Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction for what St. John’s Executive Director Alexia Wood called “affordable housing and social connectedness,” with the targeted tenants including the elderly, young professionals, families and individuals looking for affordable housing.
“The Gridiron is an innovative solution to an extreme shortage of affordable housing,” Wood said at that time.
The project also would have required a zoning change from B-3 to R-3.
Commission divided on rezoning
The commission voted 4-3 to recommend the rezoning of a proposed site of an apartment development between Cypress Road and West Main Avenue from BP Business Park to R-3 Multi-Family Residence.
Alliance Maintenance is seeking to purchase the land, which is currently owned by the Community Development Authority, which has already agreed to sell it, to construct market-rate apartments.
Trustee Steve Kubacki said he opposed the rezoning because he wants the site to remain zoned for business park use.
“We made efforts in the past to keep the multi-family (development) as far back as we could off of Packerland (Drive), knowing that access to Packerland and Main has significant transportation attractiveness to businesses moving along those corridors,” he said.
Trustee Gary Paul said he supported the proposal, because the land has been sitting vacant for a long time.
“I personally thought it was a good idea to put it there,” he said. “It is off of the main drag. If it was on the main drag, I’d have a little different thought about it.”
The Village Board will consider the rezoning request for possible final approval March 22 following a public hearing.
Community Development Director Aaron Schuette said the village’s Site Plan Review Committee will have to review the project’s site plan before the apartment development could proceed.
ASHWAUBENON SITE PLAN REVIEW COMMITTEE
Building rehabilitation site plan, rezoning backed
The village’s Site Plan Review Committee and Plan Commission approved motions March 1 related to the rehabilitation of an existing building at 2600 S. Ashland Ave.
Community Development Director Aaron Schuette said the site plan, submitted by Todd DeVillers of RE Commercial, LLC, calls for renovating the building for two wholesale distributors.
He said the site plan includes removing an old addition, adding an approximately 5,000-square-foot addition and demolishing two other metal buildings on the property.
Schuette said some masonry and windows will be added to the building, which will improve its overall look.
He said the property needs to be rezoned from the current B-3 Community Business to I-1 Light Industry to be able to use it for wholesale distribution.
The rezoning will go to the Village Board for final approval March 22.
Aldon Station
In other action, the committee approved a site plan amendment to the Aldon Station townhome project.
Schuette said the primary changes from the original site plan involve the front of the units having a consistent setback, instead of being offset, and the roofs being pitched, rather than flat.
“It’s my understanding there were some issues with getting trusses for the flat roofs, and this just being a simpler construction methodology, while still getting quality development,” he said.
The village, which purchased the former Schneider trucking site with more than 20 acres along South Broadway to redevelop the area now known as Aldon Station for residential use, entered into an agreement for Radue Homes to purchase the lots being developed.
Press Times Editor Heather Graves, Staff Writer Kevin Boneske and Correspondent Lee Reinsch contributed to these briefs.