Acquiring 195 acres along White River in Town of Lyons would cost $1.91 million
By Kellen Olshefski
SLN Staff
A public information session Monday evening provided a room packed with county residents an opportunity to voice their opinions about the potential acquisition of 194.5 acres in the Town of Lyons to be used as a county park.
The evening began with a short presentation from Walworth County Central Services Director Kevin Brunner and representatives from the Regional Planning Commission and Wisconsin DNR.
The property, located at 6503 Sheridan Springs Road in Lyons, consists primarily of farmland and woods, with about 9,200 feet of frontage on both banks of the White River.
Duane Clark, the current property owner, has already developed approximately five miles of trails on the property, according to Walworth County Administrator David Bretl.
According to a press release, Walworth County has secured an option to purchase the property from the Duane B. Clark Trust for $1.91 million.
However, any further action on purchasing the land would be based upon receiving a Wisconsin Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program Grant that would cover half of the total cost.
Acquisition of the land in the Town of Lyons would be consistent with Walworth County’s Park and Open Space Plan, which calls for six major parks in the county, four of which are already in existence and include two state parks.
The four current existing parks include Big Foot Beach State Park, Whitewater Lake Recreation Area, Price Conservancy, all in the Northeast quadrant of the county, and Natureland Park in the Northwest quadrant of the county.
Walworth County holds the responsibility of the provision of the additional two parks, which as proposed would include approximately 375 acres in the western portion of the county along Turtle Creek, and 220 acres in the eastern portion along the White River.
Under the plan, it’s recommended the site include family camping facilities, picnicking areas and stream access.
As part of conditions for the grant, the park would have to include walking trails, cross-country skiing trails and hunting, fishing and trapping land. The county is also suggesting a canoe/kayak launch, community garden, nature center, sledding and other passive recreational uses that would be determined as part of the park planning process.
For many residents in attendance at the March 18 public hearing, acquisition of the land in the Township of Lyons was an opportunity the county can’t afford to pass on.
Charles Colman of Williams Bay described the land owned by Clark as spectacular and a perfect piece of property for a county park.
“I will tell you that it would take another 100 years to come across a piece of property like this on the White River,” he said.
“They just don’t exist and people who have them aren’t going to let them go.”
With only 246 total acres of park land in Walworth County, compared to 7,644 in Waukesha, 2,863 in Racine, and 1,824 in Kenosha, Colman argued that the county has relied heavily on its lakes to bring people to the area and that “this would add another dimension.”
Others, like Steve Klitzing of Elkhorn, spoke of the economy, social aspects and generations, both current and future.
“I think this is an excellent opportunity for the county to increase its county parks, to provide additional recreation opportunities for both existing and future generations,” Klitzing said.
“I think not only from my understanding it should add very little cost to the county in terms of taxes, but it has the opportunity to provide some additional revenues going forward.
“This really could potentially just be a one-time opportunity for the county to be able to buy this and in conjunction with funding provided by the state,” he said.
Yet others, such as Gary Milliette, focused on the financial opportunity Walworth County has with the property.
“As you know, property values are depressed all over the county, state of Wisconsin, throughout the whole United States, but you’re not selling the land, you’re buying the land,” he said.
Milliette spoke of buying the land at a low cost and how buying it now would be a bargain for the county.
“Think about 50 years from now how much this land would cost, even if you could buy it. I encourage you to take advantage of depressed values and this incredible offer in front of you,” Milliette said.
Though comments were generally for the acquisition of the land, others shed light on the opposing side.
Ralph Williams of Elkhorn raised concerns of the cost of the property.
“I really truly feel that this would be a wasteful expenditure of taxpayers’ dollars to purchase this land,” he said.
“We have so many other outdoor trails, skiing and fishing areas that are readily available to us in Walworth County.”
Michelle Patz, of the Lyons Township, also raised financial concerns regarding already high property taxes in that area.
“Not many of you know, but there was a meeting two months ago and people were very upset because our tax bills went up tremendously. We’re being taxed out of our houses there,” she said.
Patz continued by stating that purchasing the land for the county would cause Lyons taxpayers to face even higher taxes next year with the loss of taxable property.
“That’s costing us tax-payers because we’re losing that and therefore our taxes are going to go up even though you will all benefit from it.”
However, Patz also raised other concerns about activities that could occur at the park.
“The other problem that you’re going to have is people are going to be drinking out there, kids are going to be out there drinking…it’s going to cause problems,” she said. “There’s going to be other issues out there.
The County Board will continue to accept public comment cards for the record until April 1 via the county website or they can be sent to the Public Works office.
The item will be on the agenda for the April 16 County Board meeting at 6 p.m. as an action item.
