Sept. 7, 2017 – Kewaskum, WI – More than 150 people crowded into the Municipal Annex building in Kewaskum on Wednesday night to take part in a discussion on whether the village should accept a donation of 31 acres from the Reigle family.
The land is on Edgewood Road and County Highway H. Early plans are to turn it into a sports complex with youth soccer fields and baseball/softball diamonds. Officials said the park would help ease overcrowding at the Kiwanis Park.
Some highlights from the meeting:
- Quite a few neighbors were concerned about parking, kids walking through their yards to get to the park, the safety of the 2-acre pond, who would maintain the park, will there be lights and night games, what’s the potential cost to the village, and how many mature trees will be removed.
- Bob Zarling spoke from the heart. “The motto of the Kiwanis Club is to help the children of the town, one child at a time. Jim Reigle has been a member of Kiwanis for over 50 years and he’s been a very generous supporter. Jim has lived here since 1947 and he’s had his kids in school here and he kept his factory here and he loved the village and to turn down a gift of about $640,000 would be a real slap in the face to a man who has given his life to this community.”
- The village will receive about $4,000 a year in taxes from the proposed park.
- Funding for the park would come from private donors and corporate sponsors.
- The village does not anticipate any expense to maintain the park as that job would be split between the Kewaskum Athletic Association (KAA) and the Kewaskum Youth Soccer Organization.
- The village would own the land but would lease it to the Kewaskum Youth Soccer Organization and the KAA.
- The Village Board will vote on Monday, Sept. 18 whether to accept the donation.
- If approved the Village Board will then have to apply for rezoning the land from residential to park/institutional.
- The early drawings of the proposed park were deemed “a concept plan” as the design is expected to change.
- One board member said quite a bit of money could be raised by selling the timber on the property.
- The overall feeling in the room appeared to be support for the project…. but many aspects of the proposed plan still needed to be determined.
