Council unanimously approves Market Street and nearby alley vacation tied to development agreement

The Wisconsin Rapids Common Council voted unanimously to adopt two resolutions discontinuing a section of the Market Street right-of-way and an alley adjacent to East Jackson Street and Market Street. The chair put the measures to a vote after motions and seconds, and both measures passed 7–0.

Council members reviewed Resolution A to discontinue a portion of Market Street from its intersection with 2nd Street North south approximately 380 feet to 1.20 north of East Jackson Street. The council then considered Resolution B to discontinue the alley immediately north and west of the East Jackson and Market Street intersection.

A council member raised concern that the packet did not include a map, noting that the materials did include GPS coordinates. A staff member said the vacations were part of a development agreement with Wood County related to a county jail expansion and associated parking. "This was part... the county jail expansion in new building and also for their parking," the staff member said, describing the vacation as being in furtherance of that agreement.

Both resolutions were described as follow-through on a prior development agreement; the council did not request amendments and approved each by roll call. The council did not specify timeline details for the property transfers or provide additional legal documents in the discussion.

Next steps: the resolutions were adopted during the meeting; staff will proceed with the administrative steps required under the resolutions and any applicable recording or notification requirements.