Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Remediation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marathon County committee approves up to $224,919 for Northern Hohman Park remediation and directs tax-deed action
Summary
The county committee authorized up to $224,919 to remove human-health hazards at Northern Hohman Park in Schofield, directed officials to execute the tax-deed process March 1 if back taxes remain unpaid, and instructed staff to record special assessments to recover costs.
Marathon County’s Human Resources, Finance & Property Committee voted unanimously to authorize up to $224,919 to abate human-health hazards and demolish trailers at the Northern Hohman Park property in Schofield, and to begin the county’s tax-deed process March 1 if outstanding taxes are not paid.
The action follows completed pre-demolition inspections that identified asbestos and other human-health hazards. “Those inspections have been completed and we've identified all the areas where there is asbestos present,” Deputy Administrator Holman told the committee. Holman said the county carved asbestos abatement out of the general demolition request for proposals to simplify contractor bids and that RFP responses support a not-to-exceed remediation estimate of $224,919.
The committee’s resolution also directs county officials to execute the tax-deed process on March 1 if the property owner does not cure the tax delinquency. County Treasurer Connie reported the parcel’s total outstanding balance, including 2024 taxes, is $138,839.84; she said the owner made small payments in January totaling $2,500.
Committee members asked whether the cleanup costs would be recoverable if the owner cured taxes before the county took title. Holman said the cleanup estimate does not include anticipated cleanup expenditures as special assessments yet, but noted staff obtained a court human-health-hazard order that authorizes adding incurred cleanup costs as special assessments. “I think we have the legal justification for it. We just have to figure out what the process is,” Holman said.
Facilities staff said contract start dates could be structured so work would not begin until the county’s legal and title positions were clearer. “We could make sure that the start date would dovetail with your concern there so that no work would commence until we knew that we were in on firmer footing,” a facilities representative said.
Chair Gibbs moved to insert the $224,919 not-to-exceed amount into the resolution and to direct appropriate officials to commence the tax-deed process on March 1 if back taxes remain unpaid; the motion was seconded by Supervisor Hart and carried unanimously. The committee also directed staff to record special assessments against the property so the county can seek reimbursement at sale.
Why it matters: The county cited an existing human-health-hazard order and the need to act quickly to mitigate public-safety risk. Committee members repeatedly raised recovery of county costs as a priority and asked staff to structure procurement and contracting to protect county reimbursement rights.
The committee packet noted coordination with WPS (the local utility) and the city of Wausau on de-energizing and capping lines; Holman said WPS removed meters and de-energized the property to remove immediate safety hazards. The committee voted to recommend the funding allocation to the full board for approval of the contingency/reserve appropriation needed to cover the not-to-exceed amount.
