Schedule Public Hearing On Shoreland Zoning Changes

Although the Wisconsin Legislature has given counties and municipalities until Jan. 1, 2014 to pass ordinances complying with some controversial changes to the Shoreland/Wetland zoning laws, Marinette County Board’s Land Information Committee voted Monday, June 11, to move forward with the public hearings required prior to adoption.

Land Information Administrator John LeFebvre explained some new provisions dealing with non-conforming structures and sub-standard parcels must be in effect by the end of this year, and suggested they should adopt the entire revised ordinance now. However, he advised stipulating that the highly controversial new “non-pervious surface” rules will not take effect until the mandatory date of January 2014. He suggested holding the public hearings and passing the ordinance now will put property owners on notice that the provisions are there, and should be considered if they are planning to build. If the legislature revises those DNR rules before the 2014 deadline they can always change the ordinance again.

He described the new “impervious surface” standards as “all encompassing and very difficult for landowners to comply with,” and predicted, “They will not be hay.”

The committee approved of the idea, and the first of two public hearings will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, July 30, tentatively in the Crivitz Village Hall. Depending on testimony at the first hearing, there could be changes to the ordinance and a second hearing possibly in the courthouse in Marinette, followed by presentation to County Board for adoption at their September or October meeting. LeFebvre will prepare a slide show presentation explaining the new regulations for the public hearings.

Committee members were given copies of the proposed new ordinance, and the full text is on-line for public viewing, with changes delineated, on the county website at www.marinettecounty.gov.

Some provisions that appear to be new are simply being moved from one section of the ordinance to another, while others are in fact changes. “Except for the impervious surface standards, I don’t know of anything in here that will make it more difficult for them (property owners) to build or develop,” LeFebvre assured the committee.

He said lot sizes established in 1967 will remain unchanged, since making them more stringent “would make a whole bunch of people’s properties non-conforming.” Local municipalities can adopt more stringent rules, but cannot make them less.

Side lot setbacks must total 25’, and this can be split however the owners want, except that the minimum on a side is 10’. Construction must be at least 75’ from the water, and 30’ from public roads. LeFebvre said this can make the buildable area of a small lot quite small if there is a lake or stream on the front and a public road at the back of the lot. Septic tanks must be at least 5’ from the lot lines.

The DNR has already reviewed the ordinance, which was prepared by LeFebvre with input from the committee, and approved it after a few changes. Corporation Counsel Gale Mattison has also given it her stamp of approval, from a legal standpoint, LeFebvre said.

UWEX Ag Agent Scott Reuss reporting on the crop outlook for this year, said Marinette County will have basically no apple harvest, maybe five to 10 percent of normal. Even in Door County, which is more shielded from temperature extremes, professional growers say their harvest will be down 40 to 80 percent from normal years. Other fruits are also affected. Reuss explained because of the extremely warm weather in March the trees began blooming blooming early, and then came the freezes. Apple trees are able to produce flowers in those conditions, but the flowers in fact are “dead,” in that they will not produce fruit.

Reuss said he doesn’t know of a single tree with fruit at the Harmony Arboretum. “It’s as bad a year as you can imagine if you were a fruit tree,” he said.

Strawberry season is almost done, nearly a month early. The large stand earliest crop of berries was lost due to the frost, but some producers had good second and third crops.

Reuss said in this county we are 260 growing degree days ahead of last year, which translates to three to four weeks.

Field crops also present a spotty picture. There was about a 1-week planting window during which results are good, but if planted too soon the seeds went dormant from the cold and forgot to wake back up.

Some producers cut their first crop alfalfa early and then were able to work up the fields and plant corn, so they got a bonus crop, but the prospects for gain producers do not look good. Straw will be about a foot shorter than usual, significantly reducing the value of the crop. Reuss said straw from oats, rye and wheat fields has become almost as valuable as the grains.

Reuss said in addition to the weather, this seems to be an unusual pest year. Crops are afflicted by alfalfa weevil, potato leaf hoppers, serial leaf beetles, and more in much larger than usual numbers.

With a bit of prompting from Committee Chair Ted Sauve, Reuss reported the Marinette County June Dairy Month Breakfast on the Farm will be Sunday, June 24, on the farm of Ed and Julie Nowak at 26th and 24th Road in Beaver. He said the event last year drew a record 4,000 people, and he predicts a good crowd again this year. He said this is a smaller, more traditional family farm in a convenient location. Convenient parking is available, so instead of shuttles, they will offer the always popular wagon rides around the perimeter of the farm. For the first time ever, the day will open with an outdoor Mass at 7 a.m. Serving starts at 7:30 a.m. and continues to noon. Entertainment includes a polka band, farm tours, face painting, and all you can eat Wisconsin dairy treats.

Jodie Reisner reported on the probable closure of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office in Marinette, in connection with the decision of the National Farm Service Agency (FSA) to close its portion of the office they share and consolidate operations in Oconto. Reisner said the state is still considering its options for NRCS.

Cheryl Bergold, acting director for the Marinette office of the FSA, said their portion of the Marinette office will close on Friday, Aug. 3. Karen Pelner, the last remaining FSA employee there, will move to the Oconto office and all records will also be moved. Until then, crop records will be filed in Marinette as usual.

Bergold, who heads the Shawano/Menominee county FSA office, said notices have been mailed to all producers of record advising them they can opt to have their records transferred to Rhinelander or Stephenson, Mich. if that would be more convenient for them.

Meanwhile, she said Marinette County FSA Committee elections are coming up. A representative from Grover, Peshtigo, Porterfield and Wagner will be elected. Nominations are due at the FSA office in Marinette by Wednesday, Aug. 1.

The results may be temporary. Bergold said down the line the Marinette and Oconto County committees will have to get together and redraw district lines. Right now the Marinette County Committee has three members, as does the Oconto County Committee, but a committee serving the combined counties can have only five members.

Supervisor Robert Holley asked why the Oconto office was chosen as the one to stay open. Reuss said because of the interdependency of the two offices the FSA and NRCS offices need to be in the same building.

Bergold said the Marinette office is down to one employee, and Oconto County has more, plus an active farm loan program with several employees.

Supervisor Joe Policello asked if it could have something to do with leases, and the implicit indication was that it does. The Marinette office is occupied on a month by month lease. The Oconto office, located on Arbutus Avenue just across the street from the Oconto County Courthouse, is not.

Bergold said once the two county offices are combined they will look at a new office location. At a previous meeting the Marinette County committee had voted unanimous support for consolidating the offices at a central location near Coleman, Pound or Lena.

Reuss said eventually the county committee will make the decision on a new location.

Bergold agreed the current office in Oconto is not centrally located, and agreed that eventually there most likely will be a new location.

LeFebvre reported there were two responses for their requests for proposals for printing the new county plat book. Contract was awarded to ABC Printers, which had the low bid of $8,495 for printing 2,500 books. The other bidder, Lithocrafters, Inc., proposed a price of $10,995.

LeFebvre explained his office has laid out the book and provides all the information. They allow for a specified amount of space for advertising, and the successful bidder, in this case ABC, is allowed to sell advertising space at whatever price they choose and keep the profits, which helps keep the cost of production down for the county.

The 110-page book, without the historical section that was included last time, will sell for $27 per book from the courthouse. Vendors throughout the county can buy the books in volume for $20 each and sell them at whatever price they set. County personnel sell them at the County Fair. From each printing about 200 books are given to County Board members, county departments, county municipalities, fire departments, etc.

Supervisor Larry Nichols felt there should be more advertising in the plat book for county parks and campgrounds. He also suggested a page or pages showing the county’s recreational trail systems. LeFebvre said last year they tried a small recreational map, but it got too busy and was of little use.

Supervisor Clancy Whiting agreed with Nichols that there should be information on public trails, and suggested if it’s too late for printing in this 2-year edition they should start considering options now for the next printing. He said recreation information is what people are looking for.

LeFebvre suggested even for this printing he can at least add boat landing information.

In the good news department, the committee was pleased to learn that Catherine Wegner of Green Bay will again cook for the Conservation Camp at Camp Bird . She offered a price of $650 plus the cost of food for the 3-day camp, which was accepted without dissent. LeFebvre commented that was almost a donation. Of this, $350 pays for Wegner and an assistant and $300 pays for the insurance the county requires her to carry. Wegner also cooks for the 4-H camp that immediately precedes the conservation camp. Meals will be prepared for approximately 100 people, of whom 80 to 90 are campers and the rest are counselors, teachers, etc. Volunteers help set up and take down for meals and assist with cleanup.

The committee also gladly accepted an $11,000 grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service for which Land and Water Conservation Department personnel will assist with an inventory of fish passage barriers in the Pemebonwon River Watershed. They will check the water level in culverts and make sure fish can get through. LeFebvre said the agency then wants to do an educational project for all local officials in regard to correcting problems that may be found.

The committee also agreed without dissent to accept some additional revenue for the Wildlife Damage abatement program budget, of which $11,400 will be for a wildlife fencing project and $4,000 will go to vendors who process venison in the “hunt for the Hungry” program.

Sauve reported the Lake Michigan Land and Water Conservation Association donated $500 toward the Marinette County Conservation Camp at Camp Bird. Sauve, Holley and Supervisor Alice Baumgarten attended the camp.

After some discussion the committee agreed the agenda for their next meeting should include a presentation by Neil Palmer on the American Transmission Company (ATV) high power line extension that will be going through Marinette County. At the suggestion of County Administrator Ellen Sorensen there will be an ATC presentation at the next committee meeting, and then later, perhaps in October, when their route is narrowed down, a presentation will be scheduled for the full County Board.

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