Pulaski seeks OK to extend water main

Extension would serve Riesterer and Schnell dealership in Angelica
By: 
Kevin Murphy
Correspondent

The village of Pulaski is seeking state approval to extend a water main north to serve an expanding tractor dealership in the Town of Angelica.

The 8-inch main would extend less than a mile up state Highway 32 to the Riesterer and Schnell John Deere dealership, which needs more water for adequate fire protection, Village President Keith Chambers said Jan. 19.

“We’re doing it as a favor to the business,” which won’t be required to annex its property into the village, Chambers said.

The dealership has agreed to pay the entire cost of the project, estimated at $433,000, including the village’s engineering and legal expenses.

“There won’t be any increase in water rates for existing customers due to this new pipe,” Chambers said.

Owners of the dealership didn’t return a call seeking comment by deadline.

Construction of Riesterer and Schnell’s new showroom and shop are under way and, by statute, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin typically has 45 days to act on requests to extend municipal water services into unannexed areas beyond its boundaries.

Other approvals needed include a request to bury the main in the state Highway 32 right-of-way, which is pending with the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Natural Resources is reviewing a water main extension request. Angelica has issued its necessary permits, according to the construction application filed Tuesday with the PSC by the village’s consulting engineers, Robert E. Lee and Associates.

Neither Chambers nor Public Works Director Brandon Holewinski could say how much water Riesterer and Schnell would use. The project manager at Robert E. Lee and Associates didn’t return a phone call before deadline.

The village is seeking to increase its water supply, from either the Brown County Central Water Authority or the Green Bay Water Utility, and that choice should be made next month, Chambers said.

The village board has made a preliminary choice, which Chambers wouldn’t share, as one of the entities has been invited to made one last sales pitch.

The village’s Committee of the Whole will discuss the matter next week, and Chambers expects the village board to select the supplier by mid-February.

The PSC and DNR will review that decision and isn’t expected to issue its decisions until this fall.

The village has enough water to serve the Riesterer and Schnell dealership, but the DNR has recommended that it seek another source to meet its needs in case a well is inoperable during a major fire, Chambers said.

Extending water mains out of town has worked well in the past, said Chambers. One main, which went south of town to serve one property, eventually was tapped by Pulaski High School, a clinic and two residential subdivisions.

However, Chambers doubts that the main proposed to serve the tractor dealer will generate as much economic development, but you never know.

An auto body shop, the only current potential water customer, would need to be annexed to connect to the village water main; the rest of the adjacent property is farmland, Chambers said.

If approved, construction of the main is scheduled for mid-April and would require about two months to complete, according to the application. Once completed, the water main would be deeded to the village, which would assume maintenance responsibilities.