Gillett reopens

The orange traffic cones that have been a common sight for a year in Gillett are disappearing as the city celebrated the reopening of state Highway 22 on Oct. 16, as well as a new playground facility at Zippel Park that replaces equipment old enough to qualify for retirement benefits.

The city and the Gillett Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated the occasion at the park with fire trucks serving as a wind break for speakers excited to sing the praises of having their main thoroughfare being paved and updated, as well as having modern slides, seesaws and more for the community’s children to enjoy. Dozens of residents came out to enjoy the playground and some other new facilities at Zippel.

The $6.6 million highway project started a year ago as the city worked to replace water and sewer pipes beneath the road that were over a century old, according to Mayor Jon Blaskowski. He praised the Gillett Common Council and all city employees for their part in modernizing city infrastructure.

“Because of them, this is what makes our city move,” Blaskowski said. “They do a great job. I appreciate the dedication you guys do every day for our city.”

Blaskowski said it was important to replace the pipes before the scheduled Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s work to replace the concrete pavement on the highway stretching from Gillett Secondary School to the junction for state Highway 32.

“While we were doing that, we decided, hey, let’s put in a bunch of grants to put a park here,” Blaskowski said, referring to the playground equipment. “This park is now going to be a focal point for the city of Gillett for all its community members, families, and everybody everywhere who wants to come is welcome to come here and enjoy our new playground.”

The city received $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funding, $940,000 from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and $45,000 from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, as well as donations from the community. Blaskowski emphasized that no city tax dollars were used to update the park, which also includes new pickleball, volleyball and basketball courts, as well as walking trails around the park.

“Without the donations, we wouldn’t have been able to do this for our city,” he said.

Chad DeGrave, director for DOT’s northeast region, acknowledged that Gillett has had to sacrifice a lot to make the new segment of Highway 22, especially the businesses. He noted the Gillett School District had to rearrange bus routes and even Gillett’s Independence Day parade officials had to figure out an alternative while the highway was closed.

“Projects like this are vital to our transportation network,” DeGrave said. “They support economic growth, public mobility and improvement to quality of life for decades to allow the safe flow of people and commerce.”

DeGrave said it took a lot of time and effort to plan out the highway improvements as DOT contends with the maintenance and upgrade of thousands of miles of state and federal highways.

“It’s done now, but you guys have probably felt the pain through this,” DeGrave said. “There were a lot of challenges to the residents and the businesses. From coordinating the customer access at Peshtigo National Bank and managing deliveries at Dollar General to working out parking solutions with Spirits bar, St. John’s Church and Pat’s Market to handling temporary business signing and helping county fair traffic plans, you were all instrumental to the success of this project.”

Blaskowski believes the new playground will be an attraction for Gillett that brings more visitors to the city.

“Some people say it’s just a playground,” he said. “I see it as a future for our city. Ever since this playground has been opened, I’ve gone by it multiple times, and it is packed every time I come through. We’ve had people from other communities talk about how they wish they had a playground like this in their community. It’s nice to know that, in this area, Gillett is going to be leading for something for families to come to.”

The old playground equipment, which was installed in the 1950s, will continue to see children climb and run around it, but it will find a new home at Honey Park on Richmond Street.

Alderman Jerry Luther was also excited to see the completion of the playground, as it was a personal goal to see the new equipment become a reality.

“May this playground bring our children endless joy for many years to come, and safe adventures, also,” Luther said. “This playground is built handicapped accessible. Handicap accessibility is a very important part of our planning, and without that, we probably wouldn’t have gotten some of the grants we got.”

There is still some work that needs to be completed in the future at Zippel Park. Luther noted that more benches and tables are coming, and construction of a new restroom building at the north end of the playground that’s compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act still needs to be done.

“By next spring, most of it should be done,” Luther said.

The Friends of Gillett is still accepting donations for community improvements, according to Luther.

Chris Byars, chamber president, was also pleased to see things get back to normal in Gillett, noting the chamber was providing stickers that said “I survived the great detour of 2026.”

“I know this went from a much smaller plan originally — I think it was $750,000 — to what we have now, which is significantly better,” Byars said.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com