Marathon County advances highway facility design, weighs $50 million price tag and funding options

Marathon County’s infrastructure committee on Thursday authorized staff to move the proposed Cronin Weather highway facility from schematic design into the design‑development phase and heard detailed cost and financing scenarios for the roughly $50 million project.

Chris Hullman, the county’s facilities representative, told the committee that schematic design is complete and walked members through the main elements of the plan: truck and equipment storage (heated and unheated), a fabrication shop, wash and repair bays, a large salt storage area with a brine facility, and supporting office and meeting space. He said the site plan has been coordinated with the village and that soil borings, utility coordination and abatement work are already under way.

"Schematic design is complete," Hullman said, describing how staff incorporated end‑user feedback and site constraints, including a floodplain and stormwater requirements. He said the team has refined orientation and layout after touring recent county facilities across the state.

The committee was shown a planning estimate staff used for procurement and comparison purposes ($50 million) and an initial cost study that currently sits near $53 million, with design contingencies and bid alternates yet to be finalized. Project targets include bidding in fall 2026 and substantial completion in summer 2028, with construction start delayed to spring to avoid winter conditions.

Kristen Hansen, a member of the county’s finance team, presented two ways to cover an additional $20 million the county expects to need beyond other set-asides: (1) apply revenues from North Central Health Center to fund $20 million over six years (avoiding new long‑term bond issuance during that period) or (2) issue six‑year general‑obligation notes to net the $20 million. Hansen summarized the county’s current GO debt ("just under $83 million" outstanding as of Feb. 1) and illustrated that a six‑year note sized to net $20 million would require issuing about $20,330,000 and, at an illustrative 3% interest rate, generate roughly $1,882,000 in interest costs over the term.

Administrator Leonard emphasized that staff were not asking for a financing decision at the meeting and that the comparison was included to inform budget discussions: they plan to bring the financing question into the regular budget cycle so the board can review options when the project budget is firmer.

Committee members asked detailed operational questions about right‑sizing, expandability and energy choices. Supervisor Pool pressed for future‑proofing, asking whether the design allows for solar and other energy strategies; Hullman said geothermal HVAC is included in the schematic and the design team is preserving options to add solar or other systems later. Several members raised the risk of constructing more building than operational need requires. "We don't want to end up with the Taj Mahal of county highway departments," Supervisor Hart said, urging careful scope control.

After discussion, the committee voted unanimously to advance the project to the next design phase and forward a resolution to the county board authorizing design development. The committee also asked staff to return with a more refined budget and a recommended financing approach during the budget process.

What’s next: the project team will continue design development and prepare construction documents; staff expect to present a guaranteed maximum price and financing recommendation later this year. The committee endorsed moving the design forward so the county can maintain schedule milestones and allow the procurement process to proceed when the design is sufficiently developed.