Committee considers jurisdictional transfer for Willow, Pine Lake and Squirrel Lake roads; $4M construction estimate cited

Chair Ted Cushing reported that he met with the Wisconsin County Highways Association executive director, Patrick Vander Sanden, and lobbyist Collin Drisciol to seek legal and technical guidance on a possible jurisdictional transfer of Willow Road (Town of Lynne) and Pine Lake Road and Squirrel Lake Road (Town of Minocqua). The delegation planned to consult WCA attorneys and investigate precedents from other counties.

Highway Commissioner Ben Rich said there are grants that may be available for roads that abut national forest lands and noted that some smaller roads providing forest access in neighboring counties had received such support. Rich also reported that an STP-based estimate put construction costs at roughly $4 million on the low end to upgrade about 1.2 miles to county standards. Supervisor Bob Almekinder added that state and county ownership of surrounding lands could affect eligibility and that if grants were available to the towns, the county might not need to take over the road.

Committee members raised maintenance-capacity questions. Rich said Mark Pertile could maintain the road for a couple of years but not to county service levels; taking the roads over would likely require an additional employee, a patrol truck, a loader and space for sand storage. Supervisor Billy Fried said the committee’s role at this stage is to identify the costs and implications before taking any recommendation to the full county board.

The committee asked staff to continue investigating legal, financial and grant options and to report back to a future meeting.