Winnebago County committee approves airport leases and easement; director outlines Fox Cities campus appraisal and project updates

The Winnebago County Facilities and Property Management Committee approved several routine property items and heard a broad directors report on capital projects, staffing and public-safety equipment at its March 2026 meeting.

Easement and leases: Staff (S1) requested approval of an underground easement with Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) to allow utility service adjustments related to airport facilities; the committee approved the easement after brief discussion. The committee also approved a monthly lease of $1,340 for Hangar I4 to tenant Michael Blake and a $448.19 monthly lease for Hangar L809A. A staff member (S5) explained the L809A lease did not match the newly approved rate schedule because the lease conversation began months earlier and the new tenant inherits the prior tenants rate for one year before moving to the new schedule.

"This is another easement request we have from WPS for some service adjustments that the airport is doing for some of their facilities over there," the director said when introducing the easement request. When asked, staff confirmed the easement runs beneath Map Street inside the airport fence.

Fox Cities campus and appraisal: The director updated the committee on efforts to find management for the theater and field house at the Fox Cities campus so parts of the building can reopen and generate revenue. Staff has awarded an appraisal to get market information on the site so the county can evaluate alternate uses, including potential housing or other development scenarios. "We awarded it to an appraiser to get an appraisal of the site so that we have some kind of information to, if we wanna use the vacant land for housing or something like that," the director said.

Capital projects and plant maintenance: The director gave progress reports across county properties: Expo Center emergency modifications are about 95% complete but remain delayed on door hardware; courthouse fourth-floor ceiling repairs need redesign; masonry repairs on the Outer Street building are on hold pending Wisconsin Public Service moving electrical wires; roof work has resumed; and Hangar 13 site work will require contaminated-soil remediation and additional CIP planning.

Facilities condition assessment and budgets: The director reported a facilities condition assessment for UW Fox estimates roughly $10,000,000 in capital needs over the next decade. He also said maintenance project lists are shrinking and that the facilities budget is being managed carefully, with roughly 18% of the facilities budget expended about 25% of the way through the fiscal year.

Staffing, vehicles and a malfunctioning siren: The director introduced two assistants, Andy Last and Paul Rokeid, as part of succession planning and said all facilities positions are currently filled — the first time since 2019. He described a pilot vehicle-leasing program as "working out fine" but said delivery times for equipment (such as a bucket truck) remain long. The director also described a siren in Black Wolf that intermittently sounded; technicians located and disconnected power to the device and staff are awaiting replacement control boards from the manufacturer to determine a root cause.

What happens next: Staff will proceed with recorded easements and lease paperwork and continue to advance the Fox Cities appraisal, CIP planning for contaminated soil at Hangar 13, roof and masonry work pending WPS coordination, and follow up on siren repairs. The committee set a tentative meeting for the incoming committee on May 26 at 3:30 p.m.