Costly easement complicates safety complex plan

PORT WASHINGTON - Port Washington may have to pay the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for the right to build a driveway for fire trucks if it proceeds with plans to construct a new public safety complex at the corner of highways LL and 33.

That’s because the driveway is planned to be built within 500 feet of the roundabout at the intersection of the two highways, Ald. Dan Benning said.

That leaves the city with two options — redesign the building so the driveway is farther to the north or pay up.

The city has an offer to purchase the 6.67-acre property from Ozaukee County, which acquired the land when the Highway LL overpass was removed and the roundabout installed.

But even after giving the land to the county, the DOT held onto the access rights, Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said Tuesday.

To build the driveway, he said, the state is requiring the property owner pay the difference in value between what the land is worth with and without the driveway.

In about 2019, he said, that cost was said to be $156,000.

“If the city decides it’s going to move forward with construction of the building, we’re going to have to try to negotiate that down,” Vanden Noven said.

The city has had some preliminary conversations with the DOT about the matter, he said, but “they have not gone past preliminary.”

Vanden Noven noted that the negotiations could be done by the city or Ozaukee County, since the city has not purchased the land yet.

The city does have an accepted offer to buy the parcel from the county for $275,000.

Vanden Noven said that Bray Architects is continuing to work on a concept plan for the new public safety building, which would house the city’s fire and police departments.

The firm is expected to provide an update on its plans, as well as an updated cost for the facility, at the Common Council’s Tuesday, May 7, meeting, Fire Chief Mark Mitchell told the Police and Fire Commission Monday.

Vanden Noven said Bray is currently conducting soil testing, wetland delineation and other site work.

After that, he said, it will be up to the council to decide whether to purchase the property and have Bray proceed with a final design for the public safety facility.

The city will also be expected to approve a contract with CD Smith to provide construction management services for the project, he said.

Plans for a public safety building have been in the works for several years, with Mitchell pushing for a second fire station on the city’s west side.

The new station would not only ease overcrowding at the current firehouse, he said, but also ensure firefighters could get to an emergency even if the railroad tracks that run through Port are blocked.

But because the police department is also experiencing issues with its station, city officials later agreed to look into construction of a public safety building that would house both departments.

If a new facility is built outside of downtown, the city could then sell the current buildings for redevelopment and use proceeds from the sale to help offset the cost of the new station, officials have said.