Winnebago supervisors approve buyout of Outagamie interest in UW Fox campus; Weis museum contents to move to Appleton, childcare faces urgent deadline

Winnebago County supervisors voted 28-5 to adopt a resolution authorizing Winnebago to acquire Outagamie County's interest in the University of Wisconsin (UW) Fox Cities campus, a step supporters said would centralize decision-making and help avert an imminent closure of the campus childcare center.

Supporters said the transfer would give a single local government control of the property and allow faster action on operational matters. Corporation counsel summarized the proposal to the board as "basically saying that Winnebago will divorce itself from Outagamie County and pay Outagamie County $1 to get its interest at UW Fox Cities." The attorney said the agreement includes a two-year requirement that the property be used for public purposes and that any nonpublic leases during those two years must return revenue to support the campus's public uses.

The decision drew extensive public comment from educators, museum staff and local volunteers who urged the board to preserve the Weis Earth Science Museum at its current Menasha location and to keep coordinated programming between the Weis and the Barlow Planetarium. Steven J. DeBaker, owner and winemaker at Trout Springs Winery and a member of a local steering committee, said: "We have a choice to do the right thing. We have an opportunity to continue the legacy of the Weis and not to tear it apart." Don Michalik, longtime curator of the Weis, told supervisors he opposed moving the collection and said the museum and the planetarium form "a one-stop place" for school field trips.

County Executive Gordon Hintz, in his first appearance to the board after taking office, said the buyout could make negotiating third-party operators and resolving other campus matters easier. "Having a single governing entity and one board to negotiate these agreements would make developing the rest of the property easier," Hintz said, adding that the move "remove[s] some of the obstacles" that come with joint ownership.

Corporation counsel told the board the agreement would transfer to Winnebago County ownership or control of the Barlow Planetarium, the Communication Arts Center (CAC), the childcare center and the performing arts facilities, while Outagamie County would retain the rights to the Weis collection. The attorney said the UW Board of Regents must separately approve termination of its agreement with the counties; counsel estimated UW counsel thought that step could be completed in May if the counties acted promptly.

Several supervisors described the childcare center as the most time-sensitive element. The board heard that UW Oshkosh planned to end the childcare program on June 20; the corporation counsel said there are 25 families and about 30 children who would be affected. Supervisor Hanson asked whether a delay in the vote could preserve the center; counsel replied that the sooner the county resolves ownership questions the better the chance of continuity.

The board approved a late amendment to the draft that explicitly restates the agreement's provision that after two years of public purpose operation, Winnebago County would own the property outright. That amendment passed by voice vote before the final adoption of the agreement.

Opponents and some supervisors urged more transparency and time for negotiation, and expressed concern about operational costs. Supervisor Bender noted the county's potential maintenance burden, saying campus upkeep is "a minimum of $800,000" a year and warning that Winnebago would inherit operating costs after the transfer. Several speakers urged Winnebago to negotiate continued local display or shared stewardship of parts of the Weis collection rather than a full transfer to the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, which has offered to relocate and house the collection.

Corporation counsel and county staff emphasized the deal is narrowly targeted: the board's vote severs the joint ownership with Outagamie County and sets the framework for Winnebago to pursue third-party operators, lease arrangements and short-term funding while the counties and UW Regents complete required actions. The counsel also noted provisions governing distribution of proceeds if the county later sells the property.

The vote was 28 in favor, 5 opposed. Supporters said the transfer was necessary to protect the childcare center and to provide a single local decision-maker for campus assets; opponents said the public needed more information and raised concerns about the fate of the Weis collection and long-term costs.

What happens next: if Outagamie County and UW Regents complete their parallel approvals, Winnebago would become the single governing owner and could negotiate operations, leases or third-party partnerships during the two-year public-purpose period. The agreement requires revenue from nonpublic leases during the two years to support public uses on the campus. The Weis collection's relocation and future display remain subject to Outagamie's decisions and to further negotiations with museums and community partners.

Votes at the meeting also included an amendment to the campus resolution clarifying the two-year ownership language and other routine and ceremonial resolutions that were approved earlier in the evening.