County executive to negotiate sale of former UWM–Washington County campus; executive committee recommends county board review

A majority of the Washington County executive committee voted Monday to direct the county executive to negotiate a sale of the former University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Washington County campus, with a recommendation to the full county board to consider execution of the resulting agreement.

County Executive Josh briefed the committee on multiple proposals for the 200,000-square-foot campus, saying the task force assigned to study the site found “about 2 or 3” realistic options and stressing that the county has carried operating and capital costs since UW vacated the building. He told the committee a local parochial school, Ozaukee Christian School, submitted a $3,000,000 purchase offer for the building and adjacent parking and that the Cedar Lake Conservation Foundation (CLCF) has indicated interest in buying roughly 60 acres of surrounding land for conservation.

The committee discussed an appraisal the county commissioned that valued the property at $5,000,000 with the existing school use and zoning; members also noted a $2,000,000 state grant the county may apply toward electrical upgrades and other eligible preparations. The committee ultimately voted to direct the county executive and staff to continue negotiating with Ozaukee Christian School and to bring a completed package to the county board for formal approval.

Why this matters

The campus has sat largely vacant since UW left in mid-2024 while the county has continued to pay utilities, grounds and minimal maintenance. Committee members said delaying a decision risks continued operating costs and further deterioration at a time when county and municipal budgets are constrained. Proponents of the sale argued the combination of Ozaukee Christian’s purchase offer and a conservation group buying surrounding land could both preserve much of the site and put the building back into educational use.

What the county executive told the committee

• “We established a task force to try and winnow through a number of those different scenarios,” the county executive said, describing outreach to nonprofits, nearby universities and private developers. He said only a small number of proposals included sufficient funding to cover the estimated annual operating cost of $300,000–$500,000 and capital needs.

• He said Excel Education, a national charter network, had submitted a letter of interest that suggested a lease in the $700,000–$800,000 per year range that would cover operating expenses, but no Excel proposal combined an immediate anchor-tenant funding model with local conservation commitments.

• He said Ozaukee Christian School’s offer is structured so that CLCF purchasing surrounding land would effectively reduce the $3,000,000 price for OCS, producing a combined outcome that the county executive characterized as broadly equal to the $5,000,000 appraisal when state grant monies are included.

Committee action and next steps

At the meeting the executive committee voted in favor of a motion directing the county executive and staff to negotiate with Ozaukee Christian School and prepare a recommendation for the county board. The committee explicitly framed the vote as a direction to staff to negotiate and return with a final proposal; formal sale authority rests with the county board.

Several committee members said they expected county staff to include protective provisions in any sale documents — for example, reversionary language or community-use memoranda — to reduce the risk that a new owner would close or abandon the property in short order.

Positions expressed in the meeting

Supporters who spoke on the record said selling the campus to a local buyer combined with conservation of the surrounding land presented a fiscally responsible path that minimizes further county costs and preserves public access to sensitive natural areas. Some supervisors emphasized the county’s budget constraints and the high cost of continued maintenance, while others urged the county to seek assurances for community uses of the building (gym, theater, meeting space) as part of negotiations.

Opponents and concerns

Speakers at the meeting also noted community concern about student enrollment impacts on local public schools if a parochial school expanded on the site. Members of the committee said those policy debates — about school choice and enrollment effects — are separate from the county’s fiscal imperative and that the county’s responsibility was to seek an outcome that best preserves value and limits ongoing taxpayer obligations.

Provenance

topicintro: “And so our our topic tonight is as the future of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Washington County campus, building and and property.” (executive committee opening comments)

topfinish: Committee voice vote instructing the county executive to continue negotiations and to present a recommended agreement to the county board.

Speakers

• Josh — County executive (spoke throughout the briefing; described task-force work, appraisal and proposals) • Jeff Schleif — Chair, executive committee (opened the session and presided) • Supervisor Kettle — County supervisor (commented in favor of sale negotiation) • Supervisor Schwab — County supervisor (expressed county-wide fiscal perspective) • Supervisor McAllen — County supervisor (supported sale as only viable option given budget constraints) • Aaron Dahl — County finance staff (referenced by colleagues regarding fiscal analysis)

Authorities

• type: grant; name/description: “State of Wisconsin campus-closure grant (allocated in the 2024 state budget)”; referenced_by: ["uw-washington-county-campus-sale-negotiation"]

Actions

• kind: other; motion: "Direct County Executive and staff to continue negotiating with Ozaukee Christian School and present a recommended agreement to the County Board for formal approval."; mover: "not specified"; second: "not specified"; vote_record: []; tally: {}; outcome: "approved"; notes: "Voice vote; motion passed. Final sale requires County Board approval.";

Discussion vs decision

Discussion points: outreach results, appraisal and valuation, state grant availability, community-use protections, operating-cost estimates, potential anchor-tenant models. Directions: County executive and staff to negotiate sale terms with Ozaukee Christian School and coordinate with Cedar Lake Conservation Foundation; prepare recommendation for full county board. Decisions: Executive committee approved a motion directing staff to negotiate and return to the county board; no sale contract was executed at the meeting.

Clarifying details

• appraisal_amount_usd: 5000000 • ozaukee_christian_offer_usd: 3000000 • state_grant_usd: 2000000 • estimated_operating_cost_usd_per_year: "300000-500000 (estimate provided by county executive)" • excel_letter_of_interest_lease_usd_per_year: "700000-800000 (letter of interest referenced)" • building_size_sqft: 200000 (described in meeting as "very large, 200,000 square foot facility")

Proper_names

[{"name":"University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Washington County campus","type":"other"},{"name":"Ozaukee Christian School","type":"school"},{"name":"Excel Education","type":"organization"},{"name":"Cedar Lake Conservation Foundation","type":"organization"},{"name":"Washington County","type":"agency"},{"name":"West Bend City","type":"agency"}]

Community relevance

geographies: ["Washington County","West Bend City","Ridge Run/Regner Park area"], funding_sources: ["State of Wisconsin grant (2,000,000)","appraisal proceeds","private buyer funds"], impact_groups: ["students","local school districts","taxpayers","park users"]

Meeting context

engagement_level: {"speakers_count":12,"duration_minutes":170,"items_count":1} implementation_risk: "medium" history: [{"date":"2024-06-30","note":"UW vacated campus"},{"date":"2025-01","note":"Previous task-force and Q&A meeting to discuss campus future"}]

searchable_tags:["uwm-campus","ozaukee-christian","county-sale","conservation","state-grant"]

salience:{"overall":0.86,"overall_justification":"Decision affects large public property, multiple jurisdictions, significant budget implications and potential conservation outcome.","impact_scope":"regional","impact_scope_justification":"Washington County property and regional school/education implications.","attention_level":"high","attention_level_justification":"Budgetary consequences and public interest over reuse of large campus.","novelty":0.6,"novelty_justification":"New purchase offers and state grant availability changed the feasible options.","timeliness_urgency":0.8,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"County budgets and ongoing maintenance costs create timeline pressure.","legal_significance":0.35,"legal_significance_justification":"Sale requires standard public-sale and land-use approvals; not a court or statutory deadline.","budgetary_significance":0.78,"budgetary_significance_justification":"Ongoing operating costs and potential multi-million-dollar sale affect county finances."}

engagement_forecast:{"newsworthiness":{"national":0.05,"regional":0.65,"local":0.95,"justification":"Primarily local/regional interest with some state-level relevance due to grant funding."},"notify_recommendation":{"audience":"regional","reason":"Direct budgetary and land-use implications for Washington County and neighboring districts."},"predicted_interest":{"national":0.03,"regional":0.6,"local":0.95},"predicted_click_through":0.18,"predicted_read_time_minutes":3.5,"predicted_shares":45}