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Votes at a glance: Marathon County Environmental Resources Committee, March 2025 meeting
Summary
The committee took a series of procedural and policy votes on zoning recommendations, park ordinance updates, stewardship funding support and ice-arena funding directions. Several items were recommended to the county board or forwarded to HR/finance for funding consideration.
The Marathon County Environmental Resources Committee recorded votes on routine land-use recommendations, park-code cleanups and several park- and conservation-related funding and policy items during its March 2025 meeting. Below are the actions, motions, and outcomes taken by the committee during the session.
Votes at a glance
Approve committee minutes (02/04/2025) Motion: Approve the 02/04/2025 committee minutes. Mover: Supervisor Seefeldt; Second: Supervisor Schoenborn. Outcome: Approved by voice vote. Notes: Standard approval of prior meeting minutes; no roll-call tally recorded in transcript.
Town of Wausau — rezone recommendations (two items) Motion: Recommend county-board approval of Town of Wausau rezone(s) (commercial/light manufacturing to agricultural; and ordinance language adding fowl-keeping rules to specified town districts). Mover: Supervisor Seefeldt; Second: Supervisor Schoenborn (and Drabek on second in one motion as recorded). Outcome: Committee recommended approval; forwarded to county board. Notes: Town held public hearings locally; county approval is ministerial under Wis. Stat. 60.62(3).
County and City park-code updates (Marathon County code chapters 16 and 19 and related city park sections) Motion: Recommend approval of ordinance cleanups and updates to align Marathon County and City of Wausau park codes and add limited new language (example: clarifying removal of property left in county forest, and alcohol use time restrictions mirroring the city in certain park areas). Mover: Supervisor Seefeldt; Second: Supervisor Kroll. Outcome: Approved by the committee; forwarded to county board for consideration. Notes: Park commission reviewed the redlined language; city council also considering parallel updates.
Resolution: Support renewal of Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund Motion: Recommend the county board adopt a resolution supporting renewal of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund. Mover: Supervisor Seefeldt; Second: Supervisor Drabek. Outcome: Committee recommended approval; forwarded to county board. Notes: Staff provided a county-wide list of prior Knowles-Nelson awards; the county seeks to signal support for state renewal.
Ice arena short-term repairs — allocation recommendation and referral to HR/Finance Motion: Approve short-term repairs for Rink 2 (temporary ice-mat system, refrigeration/pipe repairs, new cooling tower, dehumidification repair), and forward funding request to HR/Finance for identification of funding source(s). Mover: Supervisor Seefeldt; Second: Supervisor Schoenborn. Outcome: Motion carried; recommendation to HR/Finance to identify funds and report back. Notes: Staff and the Park Commission described a short-term plan (approx. $940,000) to keep the rink operational while long-term feasibility and funding are pursued. No specific funding source was approved at this meeting; committee instructed staff to pursue HR/Finance review.
FEMA pre-application: support letter for potential safe-room funding tied to long-term ice-arena project Motion: Authorize staff to submit a pre-application and provide a county letter indicating willingness to provide a 25% local match if awarded (note: submitting the pre-application and letter does not bind the county to accept any award; formal acceptance would come later). Mover: Supervisor Seefeldt; Second: Supervisor Drabek. Outcome: Motion carried; staff authorized to submit letter and pre-application and to forward the item to county board for final sign-off if awarded. Notes: Staff stressed the county would later determine the mix of cash, in-kind services, donations and other sources to meet any required local match.
Procedure and governance notes
- Most votes were carried by voice vote and recorded as “aye” in the transcript; roll-call tallies and exact vote counts were not recorded in the meeting transcript for the items above. The committee frequently used motions with a mover and second and then voice votes. - Town rezones proceed to the full county board for final action under Wisconsin statute; these were treated as recommendations from the committee.
What the committee directed staff to do next
- Compile written and oral public comments on the animal-waste ordinance proposal and continue stakeholder outreach. - For the ice arena short-term repairs, staff will take the committee recommendation to HR/Finance for identification of funding and will return with cost and funding options. - For the FEMA pre-application and Knowles-Nelson resolution, staff will forward documentation to the county board for final approval and signature as needed.
Ending
All listed items were advanced to the next appropriate body (county board or HR/Finance) or were accepted for further staff work. No final county ordinance amendments were adopted by the committee at this meeting.
