Plan Commission approves Merrill School memorial space as amendment to implementation plan

The City of Oshkosh Plan Commission unanimously approved a specific implementation plan (SIP) amendment on Feb. 4 to create a memorial space honoring the former Merrill School at the corner of West New York Avenue and Central Street.

Planning staff said the subject area covers a 5.8-acre parcel at the former Merrill School site, bounded by West New York Avenue, Kentucky Street and Central Street, and that the 2040 comprehensive plan designates the site as a community facility. A general development plan and specific implementation plan for an athletic facility at the site were previously approved by the common council in September 2024 with a condition that the memorial space be reviewed by the Planning Commission.

The proposed memorial will occupy the northwest corner of the site and include a concrete path, garden area, a flagpole, two memorial benches, three memorial piers and a carved memorial stone; the piers and the stone will incorporate features salvaged from the former Merrill School building. Staff reported the Wisconsin State Historical Preservation Office had approved the proposed memorial design. A neighborhood meeting on Jan. 14, 2025, had one neighbor in attendance, who raised no objections, staff said.

Jim Fox, director of facilities for Oshkosh Area Schools, was present to answer questions but made no closing statement. The commission voted 8-0 to adopt the staff findings and recommended conditions, including maintaining the 2020 corner-vision triangle as a condition of approval.

The amendment does not change the previously approved primary use for athletic facilities; the memorial addition is a site-specific element within the approved plan.