Committee backs sending amended campus redevelopment plan to county board

The Richland County campus reconfiguration committee voted on June 1 to forward to the full county board a recommendation that the former campus property be used for schools, housing, recreation and space for future county development or commercialization.

The motion, made by a committee member and seconded during the meeting, followed hours of discussion about access, wetlands, and how the county and city should coordinate on site planning. “We have to get to a wetland delineation right away by the DNR,” a presenter said, urging environmental and regulatory steps before finalizing any parcel plan. A nonprofit housing representative told the committee that “it is very, very challenging to build a home in anywhere of Wisconsin for less than $300,000,” underscoring trade-offs between affordability and feasibility.

Why it matters: committee members and city officials said aligning the county’s objectives with the city’s regulatory authority will help make a funding request and developer outreach more effective. City staff emphasized the $2.5 million HUD hub grant available for infrastructure but warned that the grant’s timeline means the parties must produce preliminary engineering and DOT traffic estimates quickly if they want to obligate funds.

What was decided: the committee approved a recommendation to the county board that preserves flexibility for three primary uses — schools, housing and county development — and added recreation by amendment. The committee also directed staff to work with the city on a memorandum of understanding so responsibilities, timelines and deliverables are clear before larger expenditures are committed.

Next steps: staff will pursue the technical studies the committee identified — abbreviated traffic impact analyses with DOT, wetland delineation with DNR, and site-cost estimates — and return with an MOU draft and cost estimates to be considered by the full county board.