Leaders in the town of Little River want residents to go to the polls before a $25 million law enforcement center is constructed in their town.
On Thursday, the Town Board rejected an amendment to its annexation agreement with Oconto that would have paved the way to build the center in the town.
“We had a long discussion on it, and we looked at a lot of the different issues pertaining to it,” Town Chairman Tom DesJarlais said, “but it all boiled down to people need to have some say on it.”
The original annexation agreement, which gives the city right-of-way access to the proposed center’s site, required the passage of a referendum before Little River received $8,000 from the city. The money is compensation for the town’s anticipated loss of state transportation aid on the section of road leading to the center.
County officials requested the referendum language be removed from the annexation agreement.
According to the Oconto city attorney, without the amendment, the city would not be required to pay the town and could annex the road anyway.
The $8,000 was a secondary issue for town leaders, whose desire for a referendum outweighed the compensation issue. The amendment failed on a 3-0 vote.
DesJarlais said he received 12 to 15 calls from people telling him to hold firm on the annexation agreement.
“I represent the town of Little River, and they told us they wanted to vote on it,” he said.
A 14-acre parcel in the town has been purchased for the new jail, 9-1-1 center and Sheriff’s Department offices, but the Town Board’s decision puts the site in question.
“We’re just going to have to see what happens,” DesJarlais said.
The County Board is scheduled to decide Sept. 19 if it will fund the project itself and bypass a referendum. The County Board with a supermajority vote (24 of 31 supervisors) could issue the bonds itself, avoiding a referendum that county officials say is doomed to fail. If the county agrees to fund the project, it has five years to issue the bonds.
If the funding measure fails, the County Board may decide to go to a referendum, likely to be held in September 2014.
Funds for the center are projected to come from sales tax revenue and property taxes. Residents with property valued at $100,000 would pay an estimated $25 more per year for 20 years, according to county proposals.
Reaction was mixed among supervisors Thursday, with several clearly in favor of the referendum option, while others, including County Board Chairman Lee Rymer, saying a referendum will only slow down a project that grows more expensive the longer it is delayed.
“It’s just costing us money, folks, all the time that we wait,” he said.
Interest rates for bonds have increased more than 1 percent in the past year, increasing the cost about $3 million, according to Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann.
Hamann said a lack of space continues to be a concern at the jail and Sheriff’s Department. Although the closure of the juvenile facility increased jail capacity from 45 to 58, inmates are still being sent to outside facilities. In July, 21 prisoners were housed in other jails.
Rymer said a full jail creates security issues that pose a liability risk for the county.
Originally built at the courthouse in 1959-60, the jail in Oconto is the oldest county jail facility in the state, according to information provided by Hamann. The facility is outdated and needs major repairs, he said.
Gerald Beekman, chairman of the Law Enforcement/Judiciary Committee, said a new law enforcement center is “absolutely necessary.”
“The voters feel, if they vote this down, it will go away,” Beekman said. “We have to convince them that’s not the case.”
He said the committee believes the Little River site is the best option for the center, and it i’s time to move ahead with the project.
Supervisor Vernon Zoeller said he wanted to leave the decision up to the voters by holding a referendum.
“I hate to strap them any more than they have with taxes, and that’s the first thing they look at,” he said.
Supervisor Guy Gooding also pushed for a referendum vote, saying people expect it.
“Now we’re … saying we’re just going to take this right to your tax rate,” he said.
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