What to know as Manitowoc County mulls property tax hike to help fund courthouse renovations expected to exceed $25M
MANITOWOC - Proposed renovations to the Manitowoc County Courthouse are likely to cost $25 million to $30 million, which could increase property taxes by 5% or 6%.
According to County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer, the renovations would likely be funded through long-term borrowing, which would take the county 20 to 25 years to pay off.
“We can do that in the current marketplace because we have low debt right now,” he said. “So, we can easily borrow the money.”
He estimated county property owners would see a one-time increase of about $30 per $100,000, or 5%-6%, on their annual property taxes.
The courthouse has been a landmark of downtown Manitowoc since 1906 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981.
“The courthouse itself is a focal point in Manitowoc County and we have to protect it and renovate it as necessary so that it lasts for another hundred years,” Ziegelbauer said.
The restoration of the dome, along with replacement of all 120 exterior windows, is the third phase of a three-phase plan created in 2004 to address the restoration of the courthouse exterior.
The other two phases included replacing the roof and copper balustrade, along with replacing the exterior stairs and installing a ramp in 2010; and tuck-pointing the masonry on the entire building in 2012.
During a joint meeting between the Public Works Committee and the Executive Committee in August, a representative from Strang Architects presented the findings of a Dome and Facility Improvements Study that was published June 30.
Five projects were considered in the study — courthouse tower restoration and repair, atrium interior dome restoration, courthouse exterior window replacement, and two HVAC-related projects.
According to the study, conditions of the courthouse tower were worse than expected as a result of water leakage.
“The project intent would be a refurbishment of the historic construction to best prepare the tower for the next 100 years,” the study states.
The entire project has yet to be discussed by the full County Board of Supervisors, which will need to approve the project before funding can be secured.
Ziegelbauer called it a “once-in-a-century” project.
“It’s our responsibility to preserve the building — the courthouse — for the long term," he said. "It’s not a luxury, it’s a requirement, I think, a responsibility that we all have.”
The County Board is expected to consider the project after the 2023 budget has been finalized in November.
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Board member Paul Hansen called for ideas to fund the renovations during the County Board meeting Sept. 20. He said the Finance Committee, of which he is chairman, has been briefed by Ziegelbauer about the plans to fund the courthouse renovations through borrowing, but said the committee would like to hear from supervisors who might have different ideas about how to acquire those funds.
A basic timeline included in the study estimated that construction on the tower and dome would be done through 2024-2025.
Contact Alisa Schafer at aschafer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlisaMSchafer.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc County property tax increase may fund courthouse renovations
