By Ryan Whisner
The Fort Atkinson City Council Tuesday discussed proposed plans as submitted by Fort HealthCare to expand its campus to include an employee parking lot.
During their meeting, council members continued their discussion about a proposed discontinuance or street vacation of a block of North Fourth Street between Armenia Street and McMillan Street to accommodate the proposed parking lot expansion.
Council approved a resolution, setting a public hearing to be held during its March 21 council meeting, which will allow residents further opportunity to participate in the discussion about the proposed discontinuance of the block.
“This is certainly a challenging issue that we will move forward and one that happens when you have an established institution like Fort HealthCare within an established neighborhood, as we do here in the city of Fort Atkinson,” Fort Atkinson Director of Public Works Andy Selle said. “This resolution is simply to move forward the process.”
Under state statutes, the right-of-way discontinuance may be initiated by the city council with a resolution declaring it is in the public interest to consider the discontinuance. Further, a meeting must be set within 40 days to consider its merits.
Selle said additional steps in the process will include a review of the matter by the Fort Atkinson Plan Commission on Tuesday, Feb. 28, to determine if it meets the basic criteria for consideration by the council.
A decision is not required by council during its March 21 meeting. Should new information become available, council can instruct city staff to investigate.
“There is a lot of information that will come forward,” Selle said. Both the Plan Commission and council will have the opportunity to get answers to some of those traffic questions, drainage questions, and things of that nature.”
As with most resolutions or actions, city staff will prepare a detailed memo with background information for the Plan Commission and council to review before voting.
For example, while the parking lot itself will not attract more traffic, the overall traffic patterns within the neighborhood will change. Selle said that portion of the review will include the police and fire departments in terms of concerns about emergency response access.
During Tuesday’s discussion, council members acknowledged the existing public comments received by the city to date and encouraged more.
“I’ve hugely appreciated the effort that some of the residents in that area with the concerns that they have, that they are being vocal about them and having those conversations in productive ways,” council member Megan Hartwick said.
Council members have received a direct email from a resident, two spoke at the meeting Tuesday and Hartwick said she spoke with one by phone recently.
“I would certainly say, keep those questions and concerns coming throughout this process,” she said. “I think that’s why the process exists.”
Also, Hartwick expressed appreciation to the representatives of Fort HealthCare who have engaged with the city as well between email and phone conversations.
“There is a lot of work being done to try to ensure that as much information is being gathered and being evaluated and shared,” Hartwick said. “I would encourage folks to continue participating in that process, but certainly continue reaching out to us with questions and comments and feedback that you have about this.”
Council member Mason Becker echoed Hartwick’s acknowledgment of the existing comments from the area residents. In addition, he pointed out that he recognizes the difficulty the neighboring residents are having, as he grew up in that neighborhood.
“I have many fond memories of riding my bike across Fourth Street to my friend’s house on Armenia St.,” he said. “I’m not eager to see that neighborhood change necessarily, but at the same time, I know we heard comments about Fort HealthCare having bought that land west of the bypass a few years ago, I do think that long term it is in the best interests of the city of Fort Atkinson, that the hospital remains where it is, and that in some way we facilitate its long term growth and security.”
Becker noted that as a city of 12,500 people, Fort Atkinson is lucky to have a facility like Fort HealthCare, noting its “quality.”
“Many communities across the United States, our sites don’t have that,” he said. “I hope no matter what kind of discussion we have; people are cognizant of; we’re trying to help a community asset continue to be successful no matter what we end up doing.”
The preliminary resolution to allow the process to begin was unanimously approved.
As part of his discussion, Selle also reiterated how difficult the situation was.
“Fort HealthCare is a pillar of our community as is that neighborhood and I suspect that these conversations have been had for many decades before any of us in this room have been engaged and will probably continue further,” he said. “That’s why we have this public process so that we can talk about these things in the public realm and ask questions and have good answers and good information provided.”
In addition, Selle noted there will be ample opportunity for public participation.
Fort HealthCare hosted public neighborhood meetings on Jan. 18 and Feb. 1 to allow area residents to voice their concerns relating to traffic patterns, lighting, noise, and property values. Property owners were invited by mail and city staff were present at each meeting to answer applicable questions.
Also, he said there will be a public comment section of the Plan Commission on Feb. 28. City residents with comments or questions can also submit written input on the matter which will be provided to both Plan Commission and council members.
The public is encouraged to send questions or comments to Selle by email: aselle@fortatkinsonwi.gov or phone: 920-397-9901, or by letter: 101 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538.
As of Tuesday’s meeting, Selle said the city had received 20 letters related to the parking lot and vacation of North Fourth Street. Of those, 14 were from residents who do not abut Fourth Street and six have properties that do abut Fourth Street.
As stipulated within state statute, if one-third of the property owners abutting North Forest St. indicate in writing that they object to the vacation of Fourth Street, then approval by the city council would have to be by a four-fifths majority. If a third of the residents abutting North Fourth Street does not object, then the resolution can pass by a simple majority or three-fifths.
Sixty-three property owners are abutting North Fourth Street, including seven properties owned by Fort HealthCare. Selle said by the statute, approximately 20 objections would require a four-fifths majority vote. No limitation is provided in state statute in terms of a deadline on the written objection, except that is in hand before the meeting.
Selle emphasized that any input received by the city will be included in the Plan Commission and council’s respective packets of information, the first of which will be posted Friday, Feb. 24.
The area north of the hospital has long been designated as likely future expansion for the hospital in the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
Since the inception of the city’s Comprehensive Plan, Fort HealthCare has been actively participating in the planning process.
Even before the initial plan development in 2008/2009, Fort HealthCare officials said they had identified the block to the north as the likely option for future growth for the institution. Growth in that direction pushes the hospital campus closer to the remaining medical buildings in the area.
To accommodate any growth at the existing campus, Fort HealthCare has been communicating with neighboring residents for more than 20 years and slowly acquiring properties around the perimeter of the hospital campus.
The block to the north of the hospital has approximately 12 properties, including the seven owned by Fort HealthCare, in addition to a few others along the overall perimeter.
The proposed parking lot development along North Fourth Street would be what has been described as the third wave of Fort HealthCare removing homes to expand the hospital campus. The last wave occurred in 2004 for the construction of the tower addition on the north side of the building that now serves as the main entrance and emergency room site.
In 2022, after Fort HealthCare determined it would maintain the existing campus, and at the institution’s request, the city rezoned four properties — 603, 609, and 615, all on North Fourth Street, and 403 McMillen Ave. — from single-family residential to institutional in anticipation of plans being brought forward for the proposed expanded parking lot.
Approximately seven years ago, Fort HealthCare acquired a 34-acre parcel along the southwest corner of the Highway 26 bypass at its intersection with U.S Highway 12 for a possible future campus, which, at the time was deemed a financially feasible location to one day shift the campus.
However, based on further analysis Fort HealthCare officials have said that it now is impractical to rebuild the hospital, as the price tag would be around $250 million.
Instead, they are focusing again on expanding the current campus, which — with portions dating back to 1949, and additions built in 1959, 1969, and 2004, is approximately 300,000 square feet. Due to some regulatory issues, Fort HealthCare is limited in how it can utilize some of the older portions of the hospital.
Before the vote was taken by the council, two residents spoke about the issue of the vacation of North Fourth Street during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“Please keep an open mind to this meeting,” said Elliot Larsen. “Number one, the parking is for commercial growth I feel more than it is for the employees.”
He further noted that it will change traffic patterns for heavy trucks and commercial traffic in the neighborhood and impact emergency response for those living along Fourth Street. In addition, Larsen expressed hope that any letters and emails received by the city are shared with the Planning Commission and council, whether for or against.
“I hope you take this with a full heart for all of us in this lovely community and the hospital is very good for us, but we have to look out for the community altogether,” he said.
Jeannie Newbold’s home is behind two of the four properties being discussed.
“My number one concern is my property value and the property value of the neighbor,” she said, adding that her second concern is traffic flow.
“I think we need to get on that pretty soon, so we have a clear understanding,” Newbold said.
While Fort HealthCare has shared lighting diagrams, she said nothing has been discussed about any signage and related lighting that could be featured in the parking lot.
“Those are really bright lights also,” she said.
In addition, she referenced Fort HealthCare’s acquisition of the parcel along U.S. Highway 12 and the press release issued by the hospital at the time of its acquisition.
According to Newbold, the 2016 press release stated that one of the reasons for the change was to allow emergency vehicles quick and easy access from surrounding communities.
“If they shut down and block off North Fourth Street, where are those emergency vehicles going to go?” she asked.
Fort Atkinson Municipal Building, file photo/Kim McDarison.
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