Waukesha County finally ended the decades-long muddy political battle over Moor Mud Baths building
WAUKESHA - The city's willingness to preserve the last intact hotel resort from its Springs Era has finally sunk in a muddy political battle spanning decades.
The Waukesha Common Council, after meeting in a more than two-hour closed session for the second time in a month to discuss a possible settlement, emerged late Tuesday with a split vote indicating that a deal with Waukesha County has been reached.
Essentially, aldermen agreed to withdraw the council's previous ruling in 2020 that upheld the Waukesha Landmark Commission's 2019 decision, which had prevented the county from demolishing the Moor Mud Baths building on the county's campus under an exception in the city's landmarks ordinance.
The gist of that settlement is that, in exchange, the county will continue to keep the adjoining Moor Downs golf course open for 10 years and preserve both the spring house and clubhouse on the grounds.
As proposed, the city would issue a demolition permit within 14 days to allow the resort building itself to be razed by the county.
It was a divisive issue for Waukesha official
It wasn't an easy decision. The council voted narrowly, 8-6, to accept the staff-negotiated settlement, and many aldermen took a moment to express their divergent views on the issue.
"I want to make it clear that it is in my opinion and I believe the opinion of the council that this settlement agreement is in the best interest of the overall general welfare of the public," said Ald. Joe Pieper, who made the motion to accept the settlement.
Ald. Cassie Rodriguez saw little benefit in any way for city residents against the loss of another historic property in Waukesha.
"I am against this settlement offer in any capacity," Rodriguez said. "I think with this, we are giving the county way too much latitude, we're giving into every demand, and we're not really getting anything in return with regard to the work of the landmarks commission and our own ordinances."
Like a number of residents who spoke during the open forum portion of the meeting, she also criticized the procedure used to discuss the settlement, suggesting only part of the discussion needed to happen behind closed doors.
"I do wish this wasn't veiled in so much secrecy, with the reasonings behind this," Rodriguez said. "I guess if the city and county want a better working relationship, I think those workings should be shared with the public. ... I think the failure to do so was a misstep. People should have known all along the reasons why we were going into these negotiations.
"To say I'm disappointed in what I think the outcome is going to be from this is an understatement," she added.
Ald. Elizabeth Moltzan echoed Rodriguez's concerns, adding that she strongly supported the most essential element of the debate: the worthiness of the Moor Mud Baths building as a historic site.
However, Ald. Rick Lemke was critical of both the perceived historical significance of the building and in the city's initial decision 20 years ago to "take away some of the county's property rights" by declaring it a historic landmark.
"The county does not want this building," Lemke said. "They will have other uses for their land, so I do not think they will not make any repairs to the building. It will collapse, and I don't think the city has the power to enforce (preservation)."
He added: "Yes, they'll be missing a building, but I have lived here for 42 years and this building has no historical significance to me."
The future of the Waukesha Springs-era resort has long been tentative
From the county's acquisition of the historic property at 500 Riverview Ave. more than 50 years ago to a judge's decision last year upholding the city's action in denying its demolition, the future of the Moor Mud Baths/Grandview Health Resort has always been tentative at best.
County officials have maintained that the acquisition of the old resort — which opened in 1911 and closed in 1962 — in the early 1970s was always intended to rework the property for unspecified uses as part of the county's sprawling campus along Moreland Boulevard.
But for decades, no steps were taken to demolish the facility or close down the adjacent golf course that was also once part of the resort grounds. The building was used to house the offices of the county's Department of Health and Human Services.
That changed at the turn of the century, after the Waukesha Landmarks Commission declared the mud baths building a historic landmark in 2001, over the county's objections.
The commission wasn't alone. Citing the property's role as the last intact resort from the city's Springs Era in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Waukesha Preservation Alliance also publicly criticized the county's refusal to commit to the preservation of the property.
In 2013, after the county moved its HHS offices out of the ex-hotel resort and into a new building, plans for its demolition became more public.
Next, the county executive's office included money for razing the building in the county's 2015 budget. Staff claimed the building's maintenance costs and necessary renovation exceeded what they considered to be fiscally acceptable.
The county briefly invited proposals from private developers around 2015, but rejected all proposals as inadequate, including a senior housing plan, angering preservationists who argued the county had acted in bad faith in seeking alternatives to demolition.
Responding to the threat of demolition, the city's landmarks commission stood firm in 2016 on its historic landmark designation for the site. Then, in 2019, it turned down the county's application for a certificate of appropriateness that would have cleared the way for the resort building's demolition under city's rules for historic sites.
County officials maintained that the continued care of the building was causing financial hardship, one of the exceptions in the preservation ordinance that could allow demolition.
So the county appealed that decision to the Waukesha Common Council, which on a split vote in February 2020 upheld the landmark commission's decision following a trial-like proceeding at City Hall.
Arguing that the city ignored standards of its preservation ordinance, the county further appealed the case, this time as a certiorari review in Waukesha County Circuit Court. But in October 2021, Judge Lloyd Carter ruled against the county, affirming that the city had acted appropriately and legally.
That brought a third appeal, this time to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, where the case was still pending and will now become moot.
Waukesha preservationists strongly object to the demolition
Somewhat unexpectedly, the emergence of settlement talks between city and county officials signaled the renewed possibility of the facility's demolition.
The issue was discussed in closed session at the council's July 19 meeting. But, with no discussion, aldermen emerged in open session with an 11-3 vote to continue negotiations with the county.
That led to Tuesday's meeting, again including a closed session discussion.
It also led to overt criticism from preservationists that the city was even considering any settlement, given the city's upper-hand advantage in the courts that negated the need for any negotiations.
In a four-page letter to the council, the landmarks commission reiterated that officials had followed the process securing the site's preservation and questioned how the city could agree to any settlement that would undermine its own rules.
"As a Landmarks Commission, we believe the settlement of this litigation without (a) full public hearing and consideration of the factors in the ordinance would, in fact, decimate the city's Historic Preservation Ordinance codified in Chapter 28," Carmen De La Paz, the commission's chairwoman, said in the letter. "It would set a precedent for demolition of our local landmarks."
Mary Emery, president of the Waukesha Preservation Alliance, restated the standards for the city's historic designation of the mud baths resort and what has transpired through this year.
But Emery also alluded to rumors that the city was capitulating to the county's demolish plans in exchange for land owned by the county that is needed as part of the Waukesha Water Utility's emerging water system.
"I urge you to treat the water utility issues separate from the Moor Mud Baths court case and follow the landmarks ordinance," Emery said. "Please vote 'no' on any settlement that involves demolition of the building."
The Moor Mud Baths settlement is still being finalized
While the agreement in principle has been reached, some loose ends will need to be tied up, and a timeline by the county will follow.
The Waukesha County Board must first vote on the settlement agreement, which would commit the county to certain elements that supervisors have not yet publicly considered.
City Administrator Kevin Lahner said late Tuesday that staff was expected to finalize the wording on Wednesday.
As to whether the county has made it clear they intend to follow through on demolition plans, there is little doubt, Lahner acknowledged. "I think it is that cut and dried."
Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha County to demolish Moor Mud Baths building in settlement
