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Committee discusses future of former UW Fox Cities campus; facilities likely to assume oversight
Summary
Committee members reviewed the status of the 43‑acre former UW Fox Cities campus, noted no visible progress on a previously discussed $5,000,000 fundraising goal, and discussed transferring oversight to county facilities as the property shifts toward county decisions about redevelopment or returning to the tax roll.
The Winnebago County UW–Madison Division of Extension committee discussed the future of the 43‑acre former UW Fox Cities campus and whether campus updates should remain on the committee's agenda or move to facilities oversight.
The chair said the campus is currently "just a building and some land" and observed there has been no fundraising progress toward a previously mentioned $5,000,000 goal. "There's 43 acres that are eventually, they'll either get redeveloped or we'll find a business to take over the campus," the chair said, noting that facilities currently handles building oversight.
Committee members questioned whether the item should remain part of this committee's template because the campus no longer hosts UW Fox Cities programs. One member noted that when the campus functioned as part of the board of trustees it made sense to appear on the committee's agenda, but with the campus role reduced the facilities department now takes primary responsibility.
The chair also said county leadership has received a letter of intent from First Nation groups expressing educational interest, but he added that county decision‑makers appear inclined to return the property to the tax roll rather than transfer it to a nonprofit. The committee did not take a formal vote on the campus's disposition; members agreed to remove routine campus updates from the committee template unless substantive developments occur.
The discussion underscored a distinction between the committee's advisory role on extension programming and the county facilities department's responsibility for real‑estate and property management. Committee members asked that updates be routed from facilities when they are substantive enough to affect extension programming or scholarships tied to the campus.
