Wausau Area Current: Lead pipe removal in city, possible ski show team move, Board of Health asserts role

Like the current of the Wisconsin River flows through our communities and electric current from its world-renowned hydropower dams flows through our conduits, topics and processes flow through local governments with swiftness and regularity.

Wausau Area Current is a new regular column in the Wausau Daily Herald by Service Journalism Reporter Erik Pfantz that will cover a range of topics in city and county governments and local school districts to highlight the many items that flow past our local decision-makers.

The Current will share information of varied topics just as a river may carry an oak leaf or a tree trunk with the same silent ease. If you have items you would like to see highlighted in this column, please reach out to Erik at epfantz@gannett.com.

TID 6 extension could fund lead pipe removal in city

The district that brought Wausau a variety of developments along its interstate corridor is approaching its dissolution date. Since its creation on May 10, 2005, Tax Incremental Finance District 6 has funded development agreements for Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Rasmussen College, Stewart Avenue Walgreens, Panera Bread, Merrill Avenue Briq’s Soft Serve and more.

However, TID 6 may have a final purpose on its way out. State law allows a municipality to extend a TIF district one extra year to utilize the district’s tax increment, which in TID 6’s case is around $4 million, for affordable housing development and housing stock improvements, two Wausau City Council priorities. Housing stock improvements would include lead pipe removal across the city, another leadership priority.

City Council could decide this week whether to utilize the expiring TIF district in this way, following unanimous approval from two committees. Letting it expire as scheduled would put the $4 million increment back into the regular tax calculations. That would mean Marathon County, Wausau School District and Northcentral Technical College would be able to levy their tax rates onto the properties in the district at their increased property value rather than the value they had in 2005, when the district was created.

The December 2021 report on TID 6 shows its value went from nearly $18 million in 2005 to nearly $223 million in 2021.

Water Walkers ski show team seeks venue change

The Water Walkers, a central Wisconsin ski show team, have approached the Marathon County Park Commission with a request to change their performance and practice venue to Blue Gill Bay County Park in Rib Mountain. The request details how the width and depth of the Wisconsin River by Blue Gill Bay will allow the team to expand to potentially offer a “premier ski site capable of hosting tournaments.”

The ski team has been performing at D.C. Everest County Park, but the narrowness of the river channel there has prevented them from installing a ski jump, a crucial aspect of a water ski show. The request also mentions potential for “flaunt-it swivel ski competition, and world record ‘big pull’ attempts” at the Blue Gill Bay location.

Permission to change parks is not a simple process for the team. State law requires all municipalities next to a body of water to approve a change in their use, which means Wausau, Schofield, Rothschild and Rib Mountain will all have a say before Marathon County’s Park Commission decides. Discussion during Wausau’s Park and Recreation Committee on Dec. 4 indicated an approval for a temporary move may be permitted prior to a commitment for a permanent relocation for the team.

Marathon County Board of Health asserts its role in letter

Michelle Van Key, District 1 supervisor on the Marathon County Board and chair of the Marathon County Board of Health, wrote a letter to County Board Chairperson Kurt Gibbs, who represents District 32, expressing her concern over the Health and Human Services Committee's attempt to set county health policy. The letter was in response to a resolution opposing future health mandates related to COVID-19, which was passed by the Marathon County Health and Human Services Committee in September,

Van Krey cites Wisconsin Statute 251.04, which lays out the Board of Health’s specific statutory requirements for setting county health policy. The county’s medical director is a member of the Board of Health and members of the Board of Health are supposed to have some interest or background in public health. This differentiates it from the Health and Human Services Committee, whose members are only County Board members chosen by the County Board chairperson. The state's statute gives the Board of Health authority over public health policy and the September COVID-19 resolution never appeared in front of the Board of Health.

"Involvement of the Board of Health along with our health officer is foundational in advancing sound public health policy," Van Krey wrote in the letter. "Marathon County Board of Health requests that any future public policy impacting the health of the public that is being developed be tasked to the board for review and input."

The Board of Health voted Dec. 12 to forward Van Krey’s letter to the County Board chairperson in a 5-2 vote with District 6 Supervisor Stacey Morache and District 17 Supervisor Jennifer Aarrestad dissenting. Morache claims to be the author of the resolution, which has also been presented in surrounding counties since. She also sits on both the Board of Health and the Health and Human Services Committee.

Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA-TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on Twitter @ErikPfantz.

This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Wausau Area Current: Lead pipe removal, Water Walkers, Board of Health