Fort eyes annexation beyond Highway 26 Bypass

By Ryan Whisner

A proposed annexation of a 34.31-acre parcel at the southwest corner of the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and State Highway 26 would be the first extension of the city of Fort Atkinson beyond the State Highway 26 bypass since its construction in 1995.

The Fort Atkinson City Council held the first reading of the ordinance to move forward with the annexation of the property owned by Fort HealthCare.

The parcel was originally acquired by Fort HealthCare approximately six years ago in anticipation of development of a new healthcare campus some years into the future due the landlocked nature of the current hospital. 

Plans for growth of the hospital site have since changed to once again be more centrally located at the current campus.

Not wanting to prevent the city an opportunity to grow, Fort HealthCare has been working with city planners for the past year on the annexation proposal. 

“It doesn’t need to be yet another entrance where you come into for and see personal storage facilities,” said James Nelson, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Fort HealthCare. “That’s why we’re working with the city. We really, we want to help the city grow smartly, so we’ve been working with them for a long time to figure out how we can make that happen.”

As presented, the request is for the property to be zoned RH or rural holding district, which acts a holding zone to preserve productive agricultural lands that are not yet ready to be developed with city utilities. 

Fort Atkinson Comprehensive Land Use Plan shows this area as appropriate for planned mixed use and environmental corridors in the future. Roadways on this property were included as part of the official mapping process earlier in 2022.

Currently the city has water and sewer mains that extend up to the Highway 26 bypass but nothing that would currently reach the parcel. In addition to agreements with the town of Koshkonong and a desire to ensure growth had reached the bypass before extending beyond it, the cost of extending utilities has been a delay in expansion. 

City Engineer Andy Selle said future meetings of both the Fort Atkinson Plan Commission and city council would include discussions about development of a tax incremental financing district (TID) in that area to assist in utility expansion and potential future development.

The annexation request has been reviewed and approved by the State Department of Administration.  The Plan Commission is scheduled to review the annexation request at its meeting on June 28 and provide a recommendation back to the council.

“Given that parcel falls within our official map, moving it into the city gives us a little bit more smart managed growth in that area,” said council president Chris Scherer.

The annexation ordinance was unanimously advanced to a second reading to be held at the July 5 meeting of the council.

Following the vote, Nelson spoke with Fort Atkinson Online about the reasoning behind the change in plans.

“We bought that land several years ago when we knew that we just wanted to make sure we preserve as many options as possible,” Nelson said.

Over the past several years, he said, Fort HealthCare has brought in others to help assess the space needs of current facilities and opportunities for growth.

Fort HealthCare is an integrated hospital and health system that attracts patients from throughout southeastern Wisconsin, particularly within the Jefferson and Walworth County area.

With portions dating back to 1949, and additions put on in 1959, 1969 and 2004, the current hospital campus is approximately 300,000 square feet.

Nelson noted that over the years, the dynamics of what the hospital does and how it does it has radically changed.

“It’s just impractical to try to rebuild the hospital,” Nelson said, noting that the price tag would be around $250 million. 

Instead, he anticipates details to be revealed at the Plan Commission meeting which would show that Fort HealthCare has been purchasing homes within the vicinity of the hospital in anticipation of additional growth at the existing campus.

Reviews of the current site, also brought to light, show how significant the 2004 addition really was.

“It’s got the lion’s share of the services that we really need for the community,” Nelson said, citing the new emergency room, radiology lab and much more.

Meanwhile, there is ample opportunity to redevelop space at the current site. “It’s just some things are not always in the right place where we want it so we’re working on plans to think of how we can reconfigure those things,” Nelson added.

In addition to the hospital site itself, Nelson said they are looking at some of other Fort HealthCare facilities to determine whether it makes sense to consolidate some of the services and become more efficient.

“All of this has grown out of need over time and then, a decade latter all of sudden you look at it and now we would like to figure out how to make that kind of work in a different way,” he said.

Firm hired to bridge utility tasks 

Also Tuesday, to advance progress on several annual tasks and planning work for water, stormwater and wastewater utilities, the council approved a two-year master services agreement with the firm Ruekert and Mielke to provide municipal engineering services to bridge the gap.

After two years, the agreement may be reviewed and either extended or another firm may be selected.

The city’s engineering department has been without an assistant engineer since Tom Williamson became the Department of Public Works superintendent in March 2021.

He had served in the role for three years, including two alongside retired assistant city engineer Rudy Bushcott, who served in the role for 38 years until his retirement in June 2020.

“Traditionally the assistant city engineer would help with, for instance, the 2023 planning for the water and sewer work and things of that nature,” Selle said. “We don’t have that position in place right now. I think it would work very similar to what we’re doing right now. “

Recently, the city hired Ruekert and Mielke to do a water main design. The company is currently doing construction oversight. Selle said the agreement would allow further work like that to be conducted.

Approval of the agreement does not commit the city to use the firm for all projects but formalizes terms under which staff may develop task orders for specific projects and services.

“We don’t have to provide any project work to Ruekert and Mielke, this agreement just acts as a framework for us to access them,” Selle said.

As approved, the agreement authorizes staff to publicly bid and award work to other firms as the city may deem appropriate. Further, there is no minimum amount of work required within any period.

Each task order will range in cost depending on the scope. As approved, task orders up to $10,000 in professional services for approved projects can be approved by signature of the city manager and director of public works. 

City Manager Rebecca LeMire clarified that the task orders would relate to previously approved projects.

“This something that’s identified already in the budget or has been previously approved by the council,” she said. “It’s not a case where we would just be coming up with projects and then getting task orders for those projects. They are already approved projects that we would be working with Ruekert and Mielke on for the management, planning, design, and those types of engineering services so they are professional services not necessarily construction or purchase of equipment that would require bidding. “

Three projects Selle identified he would likely be requesting task orders for immediately include:

• GIS Map Updates: Mapping new assets precisely fiber-optic, water improvements and stormwater improvements.

• TID Project Estimates and Mapping: Staff will need mapping services and detailed cost estimates for the project plans for the two TIDs that will come before council, the Plan Commission, and the Joint Review Board for review soon.

• Annual Water/Sewer/ Road work for 2023: Selle said he needs assistance to design water main replacement, road improvements, and sanitary collection system improvements ready for bidding by January 2023.

As example, the proposed task orders listed are estimated to be below the $10,000 threshold, $10-$15,000, and the last approximately $60,000 to $80,000 range. Based on estimated, one to two of them would be brought before the council for review and approval.

The agreement is only for professional services and not for construction projects or purchases.

Funds for any task orders will be billed to the appropriate city accounts. Generally, the city utilities are well established from a budgetary perspective. However, with some funds coming out of road funds there are certain limitations.

“We are bound by our budget,” Selle said. “The top three things that I mentioned there I think would be a good start, but I think we will run out of money before we run out of projects.”

An additional idea he would like to see advance includes Grove Street improvements.

“Whether we have the ability to take that on financially, I’m not sure,” he said. “I’d have to look at our numbers when it comes to that because it would be more than $10,000 project.  I think we’re more limited by the dollars than we are the number of projects.”

Department of Public Works assessment contract approved 

The council also approved a $9,000 contract with Engberg Anderson for an assessment of the Department of Public Works facility located on James Place. 

The assessment is focused on a space needs study and will look to accommodate the necessary space on either the existing campus or a new facility at another site. Funds were included in the 2022 Capital Improvement Project budget for the assessment.

The James Place site include a mix of new and old buildings, with some being more than 50 years old. In anticipation of making a significant investment to maintain the site and the buildings to an optimal level of service, Williamson believes an assessment of the existing facility and an analysis of the required needs, layout and plans would be prudent for future decisions.

A similar study was approved in 2017. However, the report was not performed as expected and the contract was suspended early, leaving the report incomplete.

MSA General also provided a proposal for the assessment that was $7,500. However, per staff analysis, the proposal lacked detail and Engberg Anderson was favored.

Yandry retires 

Fort Aktinson Department of Public Works employee Doug Yandry retired after more than 25 years of service. 

Fort Atkinson City Manager Rebecca LeMire said Yandry could always be counted on to come into work whenever or for whatever was needed, even stepping in to cover roles in other departments. She described him as “true utility player.” Several times he was called upon to serve s interim superintendent during transition periods when the position was open. 

At the meeting, Yandry thanked the council, the department heads and the community. 

“I’ve enjoyed the 25 years and looking forward to moving on to the next adventure,” he said.