Media Story

County Board creates land program
PDR details to be shaped

By DAVE RANK - Daily News Staff
March 15, 2006

County conservationists now will put together the apparatus and draft an ordinance to create the first countywide purchase of development rights program in Wisconsin .

Tuesday, the County Board approved a resolution supporting the formation of a PDR program. The vote was 17-11.

That followed an earlier, even narrower vote that blocked a motion to table the resolution. That motion lost, 15-13.

Most of the opposition came from the representatives from the cities of Hartford and West Bend , and the southern tier of the county, the village of Germantown and towns of Richfield and Erin .

The resolution calls for:

Drafting an ordinance to formally establish the program later this year, which will need another vote by the County Board .
Using $800,000 annually from the county's half-cent sales tax revenue to fund the program (the last two years the county received $8.3 million from that tax), as part of the county's annual capital improvement plan, which also needs final County Board approval.
Creating a committee to oversee the program.
Using the staff of the Land and Water Conservation Division to administer the program.

A PDR program is a voluntary farmland preservation tool that permanently preserves prime farmland and adjacent nature areas, preventing urban sprawl into designated major agricultural areas.

Under such a program, willing landowners maintain ownership of their property but voluntarily sell easements that would keep land in agricultural use, or in the case of woodlands and wetlands, maintain them in their natural state.

Proponents said the county money would be used to leverage additional funding from state and federal matching grant offerings, private conservation organizations, and private donations of money and land.

The $800,000 is expected to generate a total of $2.8 million annually, enough to purchase development rights for 500 acres, said Daniel Stoffel, County Board supervisor from the town of Kewaskum and chairman of the task force that developed the proposed PDR program and asked for passage of the resolution.

"We don't want to end up like Waukesha County ," said Herb Tennies, County Board supervisor from West Bend . " Waukesha County is pretty well eaten up by developers. ... We need green space, we need our farmers. ... We are the breadbasket of the nation and we should continue to be. I fully support the program."

County Board Supervisor Mark McCune, from the town of Erin , made the motion to table the resolution, telling the board he first wanted to hear from the county's constituents via a referendum he planned to propose for the November election.

McCune said he was not opposed to the concept behind a PDR program, he just could not support the one being proposed Tuesday.

In fact, every County Board supervisor who spoke in opposition of the resolution emphasized they did not object to the principle behind such a land preservation program, they just had problems with using tax money to support it or its emphasis on preserving agricultural land.

"That sales tax should remain sacred," said James Esselmann, County Board supervisor from the town of Trenton . "When many people are paying and few are benefitting then it's time for a referendum."

"We need to take a stand now," Stoffel said. "We need to take a stand if farming is going to be a viable industry in this county."

He pointed out that agriculture is a $629.9 million industry in Washington County and provides more than 5,000 local jobs.

"The final decision comes down to County Board supervisors voting their conscious," Stoffel said.

Charlene Brady, County Board supervisor from Germantown , said she too favored land conservation but that the PDR program as proposed "does not include woodlands, wetlands and cultural areas. Those are the parts of the land the people are in favor of preserving."

She said her constituents "are not in favor of using sales tax money" for the program, either.

"Farming is good land use," Stoffel said. It helps protect wildlife habitat, the quality of local water, allows the ground water to recharge, preserves rural heritage, food production and the scenic views everyone enjoys, he said.

The PDR program also will work closely with the municipalities and coordinate with local land use plans. "I want to stress this very clearly," Stoffel said.

Referendum in the works

Although his effort to delay action on the resolution endorsing creation of the purchase of development rights program was defeated on a close 15-13 vote, County Board Supervisor Mark McCune said Tuesday he will continue his effort to have a nonbinding countywide referendum included on the November election ballot.

The County Board supervisor from the town of Erin said he would have liked to poll the voters on their support for a PDR program.

Still, he said, the referendum will ask the question if the county's half-cent sales tax should continue.

"They never had a referendum" asking the voters their opinion on a sales tax, McCune said. "This is a fine time to do it, now that our capital projects are coming to an end."

The sales tax was started in 1999 to reduce debt service and help pay for a number of major building projects the county was facing, such as Washington County Fair Park, an expansion of the jail, new facilities for the Highway Department, the expansion of the University of Wisconsin Washing-ton County and the addition to the courthouse, as well as paying for highway improvements, park development and such things as new roofs for the Old Courthouse and Jail Museums and on Annex II.

Still remaining is the multimillion dollar project to replace the outdated communications technology now in use by the Sheriff's Department and other county departments. That project is expected to begin next year.

"There might be some other questions, too," McCune said of his proposed referendum.

He declined to say what those other questions might be, noting that after the April 4 election there will be at least nine new County Board supervisors (mostly because of retirements) and a new five-member Executive Committee, which is in charge of developing the county's capital improvement plan.

How the County Board voted on PDR issues

Table vote defeated

The Washington County Board Tuesday voted 15-13 against a motion to table the resolution endorsing the creation of a county purchase of development rights program.

Voting to table:

Thomas Smith, West Bend; Ralph Hensel, West Bend; Lawrence Hoffman, West Bend; Donald Kempf, West Bend; Kenneth Brandt, town of Hartford; James Esselmann, town of Trenton; Thomas Sackett, Hartford; Mark McCune, town of Erin; David Radermacher, town of Richfield; Daniel Goetz, town of Richfield; Charlene Brady, Germantown; James Spindler Jr., Germantown; Donald Roskopf, Germantown.

Voting not to table:

Herbert Tennies, West Bend; Paul Tuchscherer, town of Trenton; John Stern, town of West Bend; Deborah Wilke, town of Wayne; Daniel Stoffel, town of Kewaskum; Brian Bausch, town of Farmington; Peter Gonnering, town of Barton; Donald Berchem, town of West Bend; Harold Groth, town of Polk; Mary Krumbiegel, town of Jackson; Delores Kruepke, Jackson; Joan Russell, Hartford; Maurice Strupp, town of Hartford; John Kohl, town of Richfield; Kenneth Miller, Germantown.

Absent:

James Schwartz, West Bend .

(District 16, Slinger, currently is vacant)

PDR program go-ahead

The Washington County Board Tuesday voted 17-11 to approve the resolution endorsing the creation of a county purchase of development rights program.

Voting to approve:

Thomas Smith, West Bend; Herbert Tennies, West Bend; Ralph Hensel, West Bend; Paul Tuchscherer, town of Trenton; John Stern, town of West Bend; Deborah Wilke, town of Wayne; Daniel Stoffel, town of Kewaskum; Brian Bausch, town of Farmington; Kenneth Brandt, town of Hartford; Peter Gonnering, town of Barton; Donald Berchem, town of West Bend; Harold Groth, town of Polk; Mary Krumbiegel, town of Jackson; Delores Kruepke, Jackson; Maurice Strupp, town of Hartford; John Kohl, town of Richfield; Kenneth Miller, Germantown.

Voting not to approve:

Lawrence Hoffman, West Bend; Donald Kempf, West Bend; James Esselmann, town of Trenton; Thomas Sackett, Hartford; Joan Russell, Hartford; Mark McCune, town of Erin; David Radermacher, town of Richfield; Daniel Goetz, town of Richfield; Charlene Brady, Germantown; James Spindler Jr., Germantown; Donald Roskopf, Germantown.

Absent:

James Schwartz, West Bend .

(District 16, Slinger, currently is vacant)

Media Story

County Board creates land program PDR details to be shaped

By DAVE RANK - Daily News Staff March 15, 2006

County conservationists now will put together the apparatus and draft an ordinance to create the first countywide purchase of development rights program in Wisconsin .

Tuesday, the County Board approved a resolution supporting the formation of a PDR program. The vote was 17-11.

That followed an earlier, even narrower vote that blocked a motion to table the resolution. That motion lost, 15-13.

Most of the opposition came from the representatives from the cities of Hartford and West Bend , and the southern tier of the county, the village of Germantown and towns of Richfield and Erin .

The resolution calls for:

Drafting an ordinance to formally establish the program later this year, which will need another vote by the County Board .

Using $800,000 annually from the county's half-cent sales tax revenue to fund the program (the last two years the county received $8.3 million from that tax), as part of the county's annual capital improvement plan, which also needs final County Board approval.

Creating a committee to oversee the program.

Using the staff of the Land and Water Conservation Division to administer the program.

A PDR program is a voluntary farmland preservation tool that permanently preserves prime farmland and adjacent nature areas, preventing urban sprawl into designated major agricultural areas.

Under such a program, willing landowners maintain ownership of their property but voluntarily sell easements that would keep land in agricultural use, or in the case of woodlands and wetlands, maintain them in their natural state.

Proponents said the county money would be used to leverage additional funding from state and federal matching grant offerings, private conservation organizations, and private donations of money and land.

County Board Supervisor Mark McCune, from the town of Erin , made the motion to table the resolution, telling the board he first wanted to hear from the county's constituents via a referendum he planned to propose for the November election.

McCune said he was not opposed to the concept behind a PDR program, he just could not support the one being proposed Tuesday.

In fact, every County Board supervisor who spoke in opposition of the resolution emphasized they did not object to the principle behind such a land preservation program, they just had problems with using tax money to support it or its emphasis on preserving agricultural land.

"That sales tax should remain sacred," said James Esselmann, County Board supervisor from the town of Trenton . "When many people are paying and few are benefitting then it's time for a referendum."

"We need to take a stand now," Stoffel said. "We need to take a stand if farming is going to be a viable industry in this county."

He pointed out that agriculture is a $629.9 million industry in Washington County and provides more than 5,000 local jobs.

"The final decision comes down to County Board supervisors voting their conscious," Stoffel said.

Charlene Brady, County Board supervisor from Germantown , said she too favored land conservation but that the PDR program as proposed "does not include woodlands, wetlands and cultural areas. Those are the parts of the land the people are in favor of preserving."

She said her constituents "are not in favor of using sales tax money" for the program, either.

"Farming is good land use," Stoffel said. It helps protect wildlife habitat, the quality of local water, allows the ground water to recharge, preserves rural heritage, food production and the scenic views everyone enjoys, he said.

The PDR program also will work closely with the municipalities and coordinate with local land use plans. "I want to stress this very clearly," Stoffel said.

Referendum in the works

The County Board supervisor from the town of Erin said he would have liked to poll the voters on their support for a PDR program.

Still, he said, the referendum will ask the question if the county's half-cent sales tax should continue.

"They never had a referendum" asking the voters their opinion on a sales tax, McCune said. "This is a fine time to do it, now that our capital projects are coming to an end."

Still remaining is the multimillion dollar project to replace the outdated communications technology now in use by the Sheriff's Department and other county departments. That project is expected to begin next year.

"There might be some other questions, too," McCune said of his proposed referendum.

He declined to say what those other questions might be, noting that after the April 4 election there will be at least nine new County Board supervisors (mostly because of retirements) and a new five-member Executive Committee, which is in charge of developing the county's capital improvement plan.

How the County Board voted on PDR issues

Table vote defeated

The Washington County Board Tuesday voted 15-13 against a motion to table the resolution endorsing the creation of a county purchase of development rights program.

Voting to table:

Voting not to table:

Absent:

James Schwartz, West Bend .

(District 16, Slinger, currently is vacant)

PDR program go-ahead

The Washington County Board Tuesday voted 17-11 to approve the resolution endorsing the creation of a county purchase of development rights program.

Voting to approve:

Voting not to approve:

Absent:

James Schwartz, West Bend .

(District 16, Slinger, currently is vacant)

County Board creates land program
PDR details to be shaped

By DAVE RANK - Daily News Staff
March 15, 2006