WAUPACA COUNTY POST

May 15, 2003

 

Boyer wants city referendum on proposed ramp

By Angie Landsverk, Post Staff Writer

 

            The Common Council will learn in early June just how much it would cost to build a ramp system from Main Street to Riverview Park.

            Meanwhile, former Ald. James Boyer is asking the city to consider a referendum to find out how the citizens feel about having such a system constructed.

            He made his request Tuesday evening during a meeting of the city’s Finance Committee.

            “When I was on the Finance Committee, I voted to proceed with the grand staircase project,” he said.  “It was presented as a win-win situation.”

            Boyer also said there were initially very few objections to the project from citizens.

            “But then the wall fell down,” he said.

            On the morning of last Sept. 27, construction workers discovered that a wall that had been erected the previous day had shifted several inches overnight.

            Construction came to a halt after engineers found that the soil there would not support the stairway as it was designed.

            Up to $500,000 can be spent on the first phase of the project in the park.  The construction of the grand staircase was just part of that Phase.

            The city received a matching grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  It is a 50/50 matching grant, which means the city must first spend $250,000 to receive an additional $250,000 for the project from the DNR.

            Boyer said that once there was publicity about how the grand staircase could not be built, people realized what the project was about and began speaking out about it.

            He said he has received telephone calls from citizens who believe the city should put the money toward a senior citizens center or for after-school programming or simply to lower the city’s tax rate.

            Others have said that the city should not spend any more money on the park until the business owners fix the backsides of their buildings.

            Boyer said it looks like a “ghetto” back there.

            In addition to Boyer, another former alderman, James Smith, attended Teusday’s Finance Committee to comment about the park project.

            Smith suggested that the city proceed with improvements to the park but that it forget about building a staircase.  He believes the first concern should be new playground equipment in the park.

            Terry Martin believes the rampway would make Riverview Park more accessible from Main Street.

            Martin, who with several partners, plans to open a pub in the basement of his building on East Fulton Street, with entrance to the pub being from the side of the park, said the new plan for the rampway system includes taking concrete borings down to the bedrock.

            “It won’t collapse,” he said.

            He also noted that if the city does not spend the money on improving the park, it will not receive the DNR grant.

            Martin said the project could act as a magnet for future private development.  There have already been improvements to the backs of downtown businesses, and there will be a number of additional improvements in the future, he said.

            Intending to remodel a total of 4,000 square feet in the lower two levels of his building, Martin said that projects such as his and others in that area will mean additional money on the tax roll.

            “Mr. Boyer said it looks like a ghetto back there, and it’s a block from City Hall,” Martin said.  “Is that the legacy you want to see?”

            Ald. William Parker said it is premature to make a decision about having a referendum about the issue because the city does not yet know how much it will cost to have the ramp system constructed.

            He said he has received about half a dozen calls and letters about the subject, and said that if the city turns down the grant, a different community will get the money.

            The Riverview Park project will benefit the entire city and tax structure, not just a few as some people say, said Parker.

            He also said it is the council’s responsibility to make decisions, and if there are referendums on every issue, a lot of time will be spent on that.

            “I have no problem with people expressing an opinion,” Parker said.  “There are other ways to do so besides a referendum.”

            A decision about having a referendum was delayed until the council learns next month how much it would cost to build the rampway.