Although some community leaders want a referendum on a proposed new Oconto County law enforcement center, the city of Oconto and town of Little River are fine-tuning an annexation deal for the site that may eliminate the referendum requirement.
Under the agreement reached between the town and city, Little River will grant Oconto right-of-way on a section of Superior Road to the proposed site and provide emergency services and utilities for the facility. In return, Oconto will pay the town $8,000 to offset state transportation aid the town would lose.
According to Town Chairman Tom Des Jarlais, Little River receives approximately $2,200 in state aid per mile for that section of Superior Road annually. According to the agreement, the $8,000 payment is contingent upon the passage of a referendum for the law enforcement center to be built.
The Industrial Development Commission on Thursday approved an amendment that would remove the reference to the referendum from the agreement.
The County Board, until recently, believed a referendum was necessary to secure funding for the project, estimated to cost $25 million. However, the board has since learned that it could decide to issue the bonds itself with a supermajority vote, meaning at least 24 of the 31 supervisors would have to support the plan.
To clarify its options regarding financing, the county sought a legal opinion, and the results are expected to be presented to the Law Enforcement/Judiciary Committee and the County Board in July.
Frank Calvert, Oconto city attorney, recommended the referendum wording be eliminated from the city/town agreement, because the county has other options than just a referendum.
“Legally the city could take the position that we don’t owe the town $8,000 because the condition of there being a referendum wasn’t met, and (the city could) look at the town and go ‘We’re going to petition this, we’re going to annex the road, and as far as the $8,000, you’re out,’ ” Calvert said.
Oconto Mayor Victoria Bostedt has been a vocal proponent of a referendum.
“A lot of citizens I talked to expected to vote,” she said. “This is huge. There will very likely be a tax increase.”
Bostedt said it is difficult for residents to absorb the city’s recent water rate increases, and she did not want additional obligations added without voter approval.
“I don’t know what some people will do if they end up with this burden,” Bostedt said.
Calvert said Oconto and Little River do not have the authority to decide if the County Board presents a referendum.
“An agreement between the city and the town can’t make the county (approve the project) by a certain method,” he said.
“No matter where you live, you’re going to pay increased taxes to build the place,” said Ken De Pouw, committee chairman, who then expressed his support of building in the Oconto area.
“The economic benefits to the city of Oconto are something the rest of the county will not get,” he said.
The County Board identified several possible sites for the center, but the Law Enforcement/Judiciary Committee in May reaffirmed its choice of the Little River site. A County Board vote is scheduled in August regarding the estimated $1 million associated with an architectural design for the center.
A 14-acre parcel in Little River has been purchased by the county for the facility.
The proposed law enforcement center, consisting of a 122-bed jail, 9-1-1 center and Sheriff’s Department offices, would replace an aging and crowded facility in the courthouse complex in Oconto.
Oconto’s City Council is scheduled to vote on the commission’s recommendation July 9. The Little River Town Board will discuss the amendment July 17.
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