Post Messenger Recorder -

The New Glarus Village Board met on November 1, 2022, in the Community Room at Village Hall. With the acoustics in the Community Room being poor, most, though not all, of the board members used their microphones to allow the crowd to hear the proceedings.

Representatives from the New Glarus School District were on hand to submit a revised plan for access to the proposed new school. A number of residents of the village, as well as the school district, were also at the meeting to voice their concerns. Although most people said they were in favor of the new school, there were concerns about the access points and costs in general. A number of speakers reminded the board and the attendees that any expenses incurred by the Village would be the responsibility of Village residents, not the residents of the entire district. Some questioned whether sidewalks would added, who would pay for the sidewalks and even who would maintain those sidewalks. Public Works Director Joe Cockroft also mentioned that the longer the school is delayed, the more expensive it would be with costs of everything rising.

Legler Valley Road: Since the last meeting, additional analysis has been done on the Legler Valley Road option. The cost to improve Legler to Village urban design standards is roughly $2.1M. This would seem to be cost prohibitive. The Village could improve the road below standards as a wider rural section with ditches, but this would make sidewalks problematic and neither the school or the village thought the Legler Valley Road option seemed like a good choice in the long or short term.

Windlach Street: The board learned that it is possible to create an acceptable access in the vicinity of Windlach. If it is approved as a private access, the Village would again need to approve an exception (variance). If it were to be a public dedication, the Village, depending upon location, may need to grant itself an exception to the rule that two parallel streets be no closer than 180 feet apart. There are also issues with sight lines at the Windlach location.

8th Street and 11th Avenue: This is the access point preferred by the school district. It offers to dedicate public right-of-way at the same location, thus eliminating the need for an exception. Originally it was believed that the land owned by the school was not wide enough for an access point. However, after reviewing county maps, it was determined that the area is more than wide enough. However there has been some objection to this access by residents of the neighborhood, some of whom were at the meeting. It was pointed out that the opposition appears to revolve around concerns about increased traffic on neighborhood streets, both vehicular and pedestrian, related concerns about safety due to street grades and circulation as well as a dispute over property ownership that is not resolved. Some of the concerns can be mitigated through the development of designated school routes, greater attention to salting, sanding and plowing in the winter and the presence of law enforcement, crossing guards, school zones and signage, but like most issues of public debate, there is always going to be support and opposition based on different concerns as well as personal opinions that often compete. It was pointed out that there is an outstanding dispute regarding property ownership at the 11th Avenue location. This is a matter for the School District and the property owner to resolve. Village approval of either a private drive or a right-of-way dedication at any location should require 60 feet of width and will obviously need to be a clear and free title with no pending litigation.

After a lengthy discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Peg Kruse and seconded by Trustee Henry Janisch to deny the school’s request. The motion was approved.