Wausau City Hall. MWC file photo.
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — City leaders in Wausau will begin what promises to be a thorough, ongoing discussion over the future of a parcel of land at 1300 Cleveland Avenue.
The land was part of the Connor Forest Industries property in Wausau. Alder Tom Kilian says when they left, they didn’t leave the property in the best shape.
“[There are] various types of contamination in the soil [that is] above Wisconsin regulatory standards,” said Kilian. “Quite a few heavy metals including thallium and arsenic along with other contaminants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon,” said Kilian. “They’ve found this contamination throughout the site at various depths.”
No matter what goes at the site next, those items need to be cleaned up, and that’s where things start to get complicated.
The level to which the contamination is remediated will depend on what the site is used for in the future. Residental remediation requirements are much stricter than those for commercial uses. Either way, Kilian says the city could get help from Connor Forest Industries based on a 1986 indemnification agreement with them to help cover the cost of cleanup should the city need to do so at some point. “To my knowledge, that’s still active,” he said.
He adds that the city also has close to $750,000 in an environmental fund that was to be used for the Holtz-Krause project but was never needed. “That money could be applied, legitimately, to clean up on the southwest side.”
But cleaning up the site is only part of the complications that come with the property. The land is currently zoned industrial thanks to an error on the most recent version of the city’s zoning map. Kilian says while those in the neighborhood would like to see the land cleaned up to residential standards and used for more housing, there’s also been some commercial interest including a proposal from 3M to expand their presence in Wausau.
“They have a formal proposal from an RFP that had gone out some time ago to purchase [the property] and expand their industrial operations including its rail usage and yard. From what I see, 3M appears to be pursuing that aggressively,” said Kilian.
Zoning the land back to residential would take approval from both the city’s Plan Commission and full Council. Kilian says there’s no guarantee that can happen easily, but he does hope that input from the neighborhood is considered when that decision is made.
“Public input and participation have been really positive, and I hope it guides the decision of the city in terms of the citizen concerns and goals it has received and will continue to receive.”
The city has already taken more than a dozen public comments on the site, including a letter from 3M reaffirming their desire to take over the land. But, many of the resident’s comments are opposed to that.
Additional public comments will be taken during Tuesday’s meeting, but those interested must sign up in advance through the city’s website. Social distancing protocols will also be in place for the meeting, which begins at 7 PM and will also include a presentation from GEI Consultants on the soil sampling results.
To see the public comments that have been compiled and get more information about Tuesday’s meeting click here.
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