By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A portion of Whitewater’s University Technology Park is being rezoned to accommodate a new anchor tenant within the development.
The Common Council on Nov. 17 voted to rezone an 11-acre lot within the site to the technical designation of general manufacturing. The decision is in response to an announcement in early November that Elkhorn-based DP Electronic Recycling was going to relocate its headquarters to the technology park.
The proposed rezoning went through several channels — including a review by City Planner Chris Munz-Pritchard and a comb-through by members of the Plan and Architectural Review Commission — before landing on council members’ desks for ultimate approval.
In a deviation from standard procedure, the council waived a second reading of the rezoning in an effort to accommodate DP’s plans for the site as soon as practical. The company plans to make its move next year.
In other recent business, the Common Council:
- Approved a request by Downtown Whitewater Inc. to close portions of Main Street, between Whiton and Whitewater streets, for the organization’s annual Parade of Lights program at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4.
- Awarded a contract to Madison-based Vandewalle and Associates for planning services through 2017. Whitewater has a longstanding relationship with Vandewalle and consults with the company’s experts on an as-needed basis as issues crop up that are beyond the purview of city staffers.
- Agreed to allocate $42,886 toward repairing eroded piping linked to the water utility. Fond du Lac-based Sabel Mechanical will oversee replacing the existing pipes, which were installed in 1962.
- Backed a plan to spend $89,975 on a new snowplow truck from Janesville-based Lakeside International.
