Platteville electors approve ballot authorizing acquisition of 2.5-acre parcel adjacent to Neil Wilkins

Platteville, Wis. — Electors at a special meeting of the Platteville School District on the evening of the vote approved a resolution authorizing the school board to acquire a roughly 2½-acre parcel adjoining the Neil Wilkins facility, the clerk said.

The measure, read into the record under language referencing Wisconsin statute, passed by voice vote after a brief discussion about safety, parking and funding. The purchase offer price stated in the meeting was $125,000.

The district’s representative on the call, Mr. Bable, told electors the parcel could separate parent vehicle and bus traffic at drop-off and pick-up, reducing the chance of conflicts near the early-childhood school. “One of the primary reasons why our district would be interested in this land would be school student safety,” he said, and he added the property would allow safer routing for events that now overflow the lot onto Broadway.

Residents asked whether there is documentation of complaints or counts showing parking and safety problems; one elector said the school’s annual events can draw “400 people” and described existing parking as fewer than 100 spots. The resident who asked about the budget said, “We just went through a referendum that failed. Where are we getting this money from within our budget?”

Mr. Bable responded that the purchase would be a one-time expense drawn from the district’s Fund 10 general fund and the building and grounds maintenance budget and said staff could reallocate some items to cover it: “This is a 1 time purchase and this would come out of our fund 10 general fund and it would come out of our building and grounds, our maintenance budget,” he said.

On maintenance and site condition, Mr. Bable said there is a structure on the parcel but that it is not currently used by the school and that converting it to academic space would subject the district to building codes and additional liabilities. When asked about a timeline for site improvements if the property is acquired, he said none has been set; the vote before electors authorized acquisition only.

A motion to approve the ballot language and resolution was made and seconded; the clerk recorded a voice vote and announced, “Motion carries.” The meeting minutes show the motion was moved by Kurt and seconded by Betsy, as read into the record. The clerk then called for adjournment and the meeting ended at 7:14 p.m.

The transcript contains inconsistent name references for the chair nomination — a participant initially nominated “Josh Brown,” while the roll-call language later refers to “Josh Grubbitt” as chair; the record of which is correct was not clarified during the meeting.