Appleton transfers $750,000 from David and Rita Nelson River Crossing to Ellen Kort Peace Park
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APPLETON - Uncertainty with the Neenah Paper plant on East South Island Street has caused Appleton to stop work on the David and Rita Nelson River Crossing and transfer $750,000 to the development of Ellen Kort Peace Park.
Neenah Paper announced in July that it was closing the plant, and the company notified the city that it was selling the property. That's significant because any new owner would have a say in the development of the Nelson River Crossing.
"This defers the project until such time the property is sold and the new owner agrees to amend their Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permit to include the new bridge crossing within their authorized basin of the Fox River," said Dean Gazza, Appleton's director of parks, recreation and facilities management.
Plans call for the Nelson River Crossing to span the Fox River between Ellen Kort Peace Park and Edison Avenue by Pullmans at Trolley Square. Appleton budgeted $750,000 for the project, but rather than hold the money indefinitely, it transferred the money to Ellen Kort Peace Park.
"Basically, things just flip-flopped," Gazza said. "We had the bridge first and Ellen Kort Park second. Now it will be Ellen Kort Park-Phase I. Then we're hopeful that someone will purchase Neenah Paper so we can move forward with getting that bridge built."
A $500,000 grant for the bridge from the David and Rita Nelson Family Fund remains in play, Gazza said.
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The peace park is nestled between the Fox River and West Water Street west of the Oneida Skyline Bridge. It is named in honor of Kort, a literary giant of the Fox Cities who served as Wisconsin's first poet laureate (2000 to 2004). She died in 2015.
The master plan for the park calls for lighted trails, two circular gathering lawns, a peace ring, sculptures, a peace pole, a poet's garden, a quilt garden, a butterfly garden, a gazebo, a pavilion with restrooms, and a curved, pile-supported walkway extending over the edge of the Fox River.
The $750,000, plus a $50,000 county grant, will pay for the first phase of development, which involves grading and trail construction.
"This is a shovel-ready project," said Tom Flick, deputy director of parks, recreation and facilities management. "We did the design and permitting for this a couple years ago."
The second phase of development, estimated to cost $2 million to $3 million, would follow at a later date.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton moves $750,000 from river crossing to Ellen Kort Peace Park
