County puts forward 5-year capital projects plan

Countywide voting machines top the list of big ticket-items
By: 
Tim Ryan
Reporter

SHAWANO — The Shawano County Board will review a $1.8 million, five-year capital projects plan later this month that would see the county through 2024.

The plan would allocate funds for two dozen proposed projects that would be paid for through sales tax revenue, grants and environmental impact fees from the county’s settlement with the American Transmission Company.

None of the money will come from the county’s tax levy, according to county officials.

The biggest-ticket item on the list are new county-wide voting machines, estimated to cost $309,000, with $38,000 set aside in 2020 and $271,000 in 2021.

That could change, however, according to Administrative Coordinator Brent Miller.

“We’re allocating the money now, but it’s still not decided how much we’ll pay for or not pay for,” Miller said. “They’re setting aside money for it because they know it’s going to be a big project.”

There are currently two types of optical scan voting machines from two different vendors, Insight and Eagle, used in municipalities around the county.

The Insight machines are about 17 years old, and the Eagle machines are mote than 30 years old, according to the CIP plan.

Municipalities in the county currently also use four different methods of tallying votes, including the Insight and Eagle machines, touch-screen machines and counting paper ballots by hand.

Improvements in the county’s park system are expected to cost a total $304,800 over the next several years.

Those projects include resurfacing the remainder of the Mountain Bay Trail that the county hasn’t yet completed at a cost of $90,000, half of which will come from a Department of Natural Resources grant and the rest from environmental impact fees.

The resurfacing would cover a 13.5-mile stretch from Bonduel to the Brown County line.

“After this one, we will have our entire Mountain Bay Trail resurfaced,” Miller said.

The last time the trail was resurfaced was more than 30 years ago, according to the CIP plan.

Other park system improvements include $51,800 for repaving of the road and parking area at Wilson Lake; $50,000 to remove old equipment and install new equipment at the Hayman Falls playground; $35,000 for water fountain repair at Shawano Lake County Park in the town of Wescott; $30,000 to replace the current sign at Shawano Lake County Park with a new electronic sign; $28,000 to replace an existing UTV; and $20,000 to replace two rooftop units at the store and snack shop at the lake location.

The Wilson Lake repaving, park sign and water fountain repair will all be covered by money the county receives from the Ho-Chunk tribe under the tribe’s gaming agreement, Miller said.

Other money proposed to be set aside includes $271,000 for a variety of repairs and maintenance improvements at the county jail and the Huber work-release facility; $215,000 for asphalt paving at the highway department shop on the west end of the county; $200,000 for completion of a countywide land survey project; and $135,650 for water boiler replacement at the county jail.

The plan also calls for $94,000 for culvert repair and improvement at the county fairgrounds; $25,000 for runway rehabilitation at the airport; and $10,000 for a comprehensive study of space needs in the county library system.

The capital improvements plan is expected to get one more review by the capital improvement projects committee before it goes to the County Board on Sept. 25.

The plan was approved by a 4-1 vote by the finance committee Monday. Supervisor Deb Noffke cast the sole no vote.