Board recommends transferring Oakland Green to Ozaukee County with maintained mowed area

The Port Washington Board of Public Works voted to recommend that the Common Council transfer title for Oakland Green to Ozaukee County, with the city to maintain designated mowed areas shown on the plan.

City staff said the transfer supports restoration work on Mineral Springs Creek and fulfills conditions tied to several grants used to stabilize an exposed sanitary interceptor and reconstruct the creek channel. Rob (city staff) said Ozaukee County completed channel improvements upstream, the county requested a deed or easement so it could establish native prairie plantings, and the county recommended title transfer because it was more feasible than an easement.

Andrew Schech, director of planning and parks for Ozaukee County, told the board the grants that funded the creek work required acreage commitments for stream length, riparian area and native prairie. He said the deed or easement helps secure long-term protection and provides matching value for county grant applications. “The outcome… of both of those, the easement and or the deed transfer is the same in that that area would be protected,” he said.

Neighbors and aldermen raised concerns. A nearby resident said Oak land Green had been used as informal open space for decades and urged clearer communication. The resident also said prairie management actions earlier this spring likely disrupted bird nesting. City staff and county representatives said the west portion of the park will remain a mowed turf area for recreation (about an 80-foot-wide area), while the east portion will be restored to prairie to meet grant metrics.

Board members requested that the transfer include recorded easements for utilities and a formal memorandum of understanding to document city maintenance of the mowed areas and access easements needed for future creek restoration. Rob said deed restrictions from the original transfer from We Energies already restrict development and that any future divestment would need approval of an appropriate grantee; county staff said the deed or easement would be grant-restricted to prohibit development.

A motion to recommend the title transfer to Ozaukee County, with the city to maintain designated mowed areas and record required utility easements and restrictions, carried on a voice vote. Board members signaled they will take the recommendation to the plan commission for surplus-property designation and then to council for a resolution to transfer title.