Marathon County executive committee reviews draft chapters on water, economy, recreation and intergovernmental cooperation

Marathon County Executive Committee members on Wednesday reviewed draft updates to chapters 6 (water resources), 10 (education, workforce and economic development), 11 (recreation, tourism and natural resources) and 12 (intergovernmental cooperation) of the county’s comprehensive plan and discussed follow-up data collection and policy language.

The briefing from county planning staff focused first on groundwater sampling results and public-health implications, then moved to economic and tourism strategy, trails and park land priorities, and coordination with state and federal entities.

Laurie Kimmons, CPZ staff, said the water-resources chapter will include new groundwater data from the county’s 2024 well-sampling program and that the draft shows lead detected in initial tests in 15 percent of samples. "In our follow-up testing, we actually found that was predominantly related to plumbing," Kimmons said, adding that nitrate contamination is appearing in additional nearby wells and that the share of wells with elevated nitrate "will end up being higher" after more sampling. Kimmons also said the chapter will add material on stormwater and salt-reduction efforts, preparedness for contamination or natural disasters, and PFAS as an emerging issue.

Jeff Pritchard, CPZ staff, noted that public water systems with a probable large supply are required to test and report PFAS but private-well owners lack a comparable requirement and may face funding barriers for testing. "The problem area would be private individuals with private wells and having funding available for those individuals to test for PFAS," Pritchard said.

Supervisor Robinson said the state conversation has included proposals for funding private-well sampling. "I know the governor had earmarked some of the ARPA dollars for private wells sampling," Robinson said, and he also referenced discussion in Madison about a proposed $125,000,000 trust fund to support private-well testing, noting none of those items were finalized in the budget at the time of the meeting.

On economic development and workforce topics in chapter 10, staff updated industry and employer tables with more recent data (2022–2025 where available), added a location-quotient analysis to show concentrated industries, and recommended adding material on childcare and Central Wisconsin Airport’s role in talent attraction, tourism and economic development. The committee discussed using a regional, collaborative approach with the CVB, chambers and municipalities to promote outdoor recreation and tourism in the Wausau–Marathon County area.

On recreation and natural resources (chapter 11), staff listed recent trail and facility projects (Wausau Ignite, state-trail expansions, Ice Age Trail references) and recommended expanding language about parks and forestry priorities, including the ability to acquire natural resource parcels when they become available and creating a conservancy park classification to aid preservation. Committee members raised specific facilities and trails for inclusion, such as ATV/UTV routes, local bike trails, Granite Peak and Rib Mountain State Park projects, and regional tournament facilities.

The committee also discussed wetland mitigation/mitigation-banking as a potential tool for balancing development and conservation. "What I think he's talking about would be wetland mitigation areas," said Jeff Pritchard, who described how mitigation parcels could be used to fund preservation while meeting developers’ mitigation obligations.

Chapter 12, on intergovernmental cooperation, added entities not in the 2016 plan (for example, a north-central health care entry and a regional forensics center) and reaffirmed goals for regional coordination on zoning, transportation, and service consolidation. Committee members suggested reviewing language used by neighboring counties (Oneida County was cited) about requiring consultation with state and federal agencies on land-planning actions; staff said they would examine the suggested language and maps of state and federal land ownership.

Committee members and staff identified several follow-up items and directions: staff will incorporate updated groundwater and economic data into the draft chapters; explore funding sources and state programs for private-well PFAS testing; add or clarify references to airport and tourism roles; review TIF (tax incremental financing) language and the EDC committee’s 10 standards; and add missing regional partners in the intergovernmental chapter. Laurie Kimmons said chapters 3 (health and human services) and 13 (action strategies) were still forthcoming and that staff intended to compile a single consolidated draft for broader review later in the summer.

The committee scheduled its next meeting for July 10 at 3:00 p.m. and later adjourned on a motion by Supervisor Mirage, seconded by Vice Chair Dickinson.