Oconto County will pay the city of Oconto over a quarter million dollars to purchase city property for a new law enforcement center and to reimburse the city for the property taxes it expects to lose once homes and businesses in the footprint of the LEC are removed.
The Oconto County Board on Thursday adopted a memorandum of understanding with the city to pay $175,000 in a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), to be paid in a lump sum. The city will lose revenue from one square block north of the courthouse—14 parcels on which the homes and businesses will be moved or demolished—plus the USDA building property west of the courthouse, which the county will use for parking.
The county will also pay $77,500 for a one-block stretch of Adams Street, from Park to Arbutus streets. Adams is located between the courthouse and the proposed site of the LEC, and the LEC design proposal shows this will be where the LEC and courthouse will connect.
A secure corridor is planned for the transfer of inmates from the LEC to courtrooms in the courthouse. Another corridor, open to the public, will provide access between the two buildings for staff members and the public.
According to Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann, constructing part of the LEC on Adams Street will result in operational efficiencies for county employees.
Also included in the MOU was the $7,000 purchase price for two alleyways. Hamann said the purchase of Adams Street and the two alleys will provide additional space for the LEC project, estimated at 94,000 square feet.
“It gives us a lot more land to build the facility on,” he said.
Hamann said the $259,500 payment to the city was about $100,000 higher than early projections for the project, but was considered “the cost of doing business.”
“It’s the necessary cost of putting this building together,” he said.
Hamann presented the details of the MOU to the County Board in closed session. The MOU was then adopted 30-1, with Supervisor Gary Frank casting the only opposing vote.
Frank told the Times Herald he strongly expressed his opposition to the MOU in closed session but had little to say publicly.
“I just can’t understand this process at all. It just seems that the city of Oconto would be so happy that everything continues here,” he said.
Oconto City Administrator Sara Perrizo said city officials were “looking out for our taxpayers.”
“As a city we are happy, very happy the county wanted to stay here and build the law enforcement center here,” she said.
In determining the PILOT, Perrizo said the city projected lost tax revenue for the next 20 years. It estimated a loss of $7,500 to $8,000 in taxes each year from property on the north block, plus additional lost income from the USDA building property.
The purchase price of Adams Street was based on its appraised value, and the city set the price for the alleys at $3,500 each.
The Oconto City Council, with an 8-1 vote, adopted the MOU on Dec. 9. Joe Stiloski opposed.
According to the MOU, the county will pay the cost of any sewer, water and storm sewer revisions needed on Adams Street.
The city, for its part, will provide municipal services for the LEC, including fire and police protection, ambulance service, water and sewer.
Construction of the $30 million LEC is scheduled to begin in August 2015, with completion in late 2016.
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