You're listening to Perspective on WFHR 1320 AM 975 FM.
I'm Alyssa Kay bringing you news in our community.
During this interview, I'm talking with Wood County Board Chair Lance Plimal on Friday, March 27th.
Thank you for joining me, Lance, to bring the community an update from the County Board.
Well, thank you for having me, Melissa.
We always enjoy the opportunity.
And we both were recently at the legislative breakfast.
It actually took place today as we record this on Friday.
And as you're hearing this, it was last week.
There was a great showing from local representatives, and it was a packed house with a delicious breakfast catered by Chatterbox.
Can you tell us a little bit about...
your experience, because you've been to many of these.
Absolutely.
You don't want to hear that it was scrambled eggs and there was really good food from Kansas.
No, it was a great event.
It was a sold out event, as you indicated, which is fantastic.
And then the part I think that is so great for the residents of our area is our local legislators show up.
They're at those events.
They're accessible.
They'll talk to you about the issues.
They're not afraid to get out in front of everybody.
And I think that was a little bit of the
theme of what we talked about.
I mean, there's disagreements in those political parties on some of those issues.
But all in all, at the end of the day, you know, all working together to make the community a better place and have the opportunity to discuss those with those people in that setting, very informal, is a great opportunity.
Because it's almost more like a town hall type of meeting where there were some moderated questions, but then they opened it up to the room in general.
Yes, they just, I mean, they allow questions, you know, they answer them honestly.
There's a little bit back and forth occasionally between the legislators.
But what was interesting, you know, we sat through that meeting and the issues that the legislators brought forth are the same ones that we deal with on a local level.
And, you know, from a county government perspective, we're an administrative arm of state government.
They tell us what to do, and then we have to figure out how to do it.
But, you know, the issues they addressed were those that we deal with here and, you know, everything from, you know, public safety, which is probably number one, and then locally,
We deal with housing, economic development.
and child care.
And all those play together.
It's not, you know, if you don't have child care, you really can't have economic development.
You need housing for those people.
And then the recreation aspects.
And you heard some of that with Nelson Ellison and some of the other bills they talked about as they develop recreation areas
around
the state.
And as you said, the state senate and assembly members talked about the last legislative session and some of the things they were able to get accomplished, some of the things that got stalled.
Was there any one thing that stood out to you that they brought up?
No, you know you hear about the gridlock all the time and I think kind of ironically in this case They probably got more done this session than they have in many others There's always things that you know personally you would like to see get done All in all I think many of the big issues were addressed, you know one of the ones with PFAS contamination
Some of that money is finally being released, and that'll go the right direction.
There's certainly debate over what to do with the surplus in Madison.
Do we give it as a tax credit?
Do we send rebates?
Do we lower tax rates?
Do we increase education spending?
All those get bandied about, but I think the main theme when you get done with all of it is there's not enough money to do it all.
So we have to pick and choose, spend wisely and look to the future, hopefully.
And during the public comment period, you thank the local reps and mentioned your work that takes you to many different places around the state, around the country.
You mentioned how local and state government communicate here versus how you see it elsewhere.
What's your take on this area versus elsewhere?
I'll be real blunt.
Even as I travel in the state of Wisconsin, one of the roles I play is the president of the local government institute.
And that's a combination of the legal municipalities, the town's association, the county's association.
And I happen to mention one day that in our community, we talk to our legislators.
I meet with my sheriff almost every day.
I talk to the mayor when we have issues back and forth.
And they said, that's an anomaly.
They said, you're maybe one or two.
places in the entire state that have those relationships across the board.
And then as I have opportunity to travel around the country, I find that's probably true.
We have tremendous access.
The people are accessible.
They answer your questions.
If you make a phone call, they'll answer you.
If you show up in their office, if they're not there, somebody will respond.
And we genuinely have very congenial and often cooperative exchanges.
And that's how things get done.
from a county perspective like I said we're you know we are an administrative arm of state government so I mean they tell us what to do we do it with the city though in Wisconsin rampant specifically because we're down here in this part of the county you know I get on the phone with Mayor Zachar we talk about issues typically we have generally the same
Thought in mind and then how do we get there?
But it's it's a conversation.
He'll stop at my office or vice versa And that's how things get done instead of you know yelling at each other sending nasty emails or tax back and forth.
So we're lucky
Mm-hmm.
We are and and this
Particular legislative breakfast was expanded a little bit.
Stacey Keevey, the CEO of Heart of Wisconsin, Chamber of Commerce, got up there and talked about partnering with, I believe it was Crate Portage.
Their
Business Development Council.
There you go.
And so we also had Mayor Wiesem.
of Stevens Point Mayor that was there, Vinnie Moreci, who is a representative that covers the Stevens Point area, and I believe in the Wood County a little bit here and there.
But we had some, we actually had a bipartisan board there this morning of both local Republicans and Democrats, and there was a little bit of back and forth between them on some of these issues.
And there will be.
I mean, that's both sides of the aisle, you know.
I have the opportunity to work with all those people.
You know, Vinnie Moresi over in Portage County sits on the opposite side of the aisle.
If we're putting these in hours after names, then the people over here.
But I have found him to be somebody who will engage in conversation with all sides, will and talk about that.
And I think...
Representative Moreci pointed out one thing.
Everybody in that legislature has an area that you'd probably consider their expertise, their wheelhouse, where they really thrive, where they really dig down.
And in our local, luckily in our area, we have some people who have expertise in a number of different areas.
They're not all in one specific area where they pontificate on what's going on and
try to
pass legislation.
So all in all, pretty good mix.
And I thought it was a great meeting.
And hopefully more conversations will come about after that.
If you're interested in watching the legislative breakfast, if you weren't able to be there, Joe Bachman from Wisconsin Rapids Community Media did record the entire event so that is available on the...
Wisconsin Rapids Community Media Facebook page, and I believe it will also be aired on your local cable channels.
But now Lance, let's move into a little more of the county specific items that we wanted to talk about today.
And there is a brand new building at Powers Bluff that's scheduled to open hopefully on Memorial Day.
This has been quite the undertaking to get into place.
Tell us about this.
Sure.
Well, you know, one of the things, if you would have been at that breakfast this morning, or if you watched the replay of that, you heard, I think it was Senator Tomtack say, government moves slow, but sometimes that's really good.
So it was probably 20 years ago when we started plans on how do we develop powers bluff, taking into consideration, you know, the ecological needs, those archaeological.
barriers we worked around.
And one of the things that came about out of those studies years ago is that we could use an all-purpose shelter.
There are a nice building that could host everything from local events that use our facilities out there, whether those be the ski and tubing hills or the bike trails, as well as host some larger events.
So over the last 20 years, we've tried to figure out how to do that.
And this year, by Memorial Day, hopefully, I'm knocking on wood when I say that, that's a target date.
There's a fantastic new
All-purpose building out there and I mean it is gorgeous vaulted ceilings stone fire places that can accommodate everything from those local events Which we expect to be fairly large with the bike trails out there.
That's a world-class mountain biking trail system To weddings and other events.
I mean, it's gonna be spectacular So really looking forward to that.
I hate we do not have reservations available for that yet because that's a target date We're pretty sure we're gonna meet that
We're actually running a little bit behind where we wanted to, but that wasn't anybody's fault.
It was availability of materials.
So moving along in that direction.
Well, after 20 years, Lance, I think we can, you know,
we can wait a little bit
more.
A couple more weeks, you know.
You
know, it's funny how that comes about because, you know, some people say, well, why would you spend money on planning?
Well, we plan this.
And then when the opportunity became available, the plans were there.
They were in place.
we were able to move forward, and this is something that's going to really benefit the entire county
from one end to the
other, and then you'll probably lead into our other park.
Yes, indeed, which is Sarah Park.
This is a newer park for Wood County.
This will be the second season, I believe, for that park.
A shelter there is open, and they are already taking reservations for this summer because that new shelter will be open in addition to the rest of the park this summer.
Yeah, Sarah Park was really a feather in our cap last year when we had the opportunity
to take over that park, you know, formerly the Consolidated Employees Recreation Area, CERA.
And we didn't rename it because there's recognition there.
But some gorgeous campsites.
river frontage, just a beautiful park.
And we were able to open last year, really short notice.
I mean, we took this over and like within a month, we had campsites open or taken reservations.
But we still a lot of work to do out there.
And we continue to do that.
But one of the things that we just completed out there was the shelter building.
That is ready to go.
Reservations available online.
Like everywhere else, we anticipate a great season.
Our park system, you know, that's one of the things when we talk about economic development.
People ask us, they ask about education, transportation, all of those things, public safety, but they talk about lifestyle.
And, you know, and what are those opportunities and whether that be, you know, the BMX track, whether that be the skate park, Powers Bluff, Sarah Parker, water skiing, you name it.
Our parks department is sensational.
And the parks that we have in this area really are second to none.
And so I encourage our residents of this area to take advantage of those, go out there, spend the day, maybe go camping.
It's almost 50% of the people who use our parks, even for camping, are local.
So go out and take a look.
Yeah.
And as you're driving down that stretch of highway, be ready.
We're going to get
a sign.
We've talked about this multiple times, Lance, but I know I've driven right past it and went, oh, there it is.
You know, I got off the phone just a little while ago with our Parks Director, Administrator Knight.
I forgot to have that conversation because I know where it is and I did the same thing last year.
I went flying by and I said to my wife, oh, I got to back up here.
I missed the entrance.
I said, how can you miss an entrance to a park that, you know, the county owns?
I said, well,
I did.
We need a hidden gem.
We need a warning sign.
You're coming to the entrance and
we'll work on that.
Maybe with lights flashing.
We'll figure something
out.
Well, we're going to take a short pause here to hear from our sponsors.
I'm Melissa K talking with Wood County Board.
Welcome, you're listening to Perspective on WFHR 1320 AM, 975 FM.
I'm Melissa Kay bringing you news in our community.
I'm speaking with Wood County Board Chair Lance Plimo, and where we left off, we were talking about the parks opening up in the area, the projected date, tentative projected date for the new shelter at Powers Bluff.
But now Lance, I'd like to move into some of the things that have happened at the county board from your recent county board meeting this last month.
And in the Health and Human Services Committee,
We had an update from Edgewater Haven from the Samuels Group.
Some items were adjusted because of the new ADA building requirements adopted by the state.
Can you give us an update on what's happening at Edgewater?
Sure.
We actually had a meeting last night, a Health and Human Services Committee meeting where a number of the board members toured that facility to see exactly what it is they're doing.
We have an anticipated project out there that's going to run somewhere in the neighborhood of...
$2.4 to $2.8 million when we're done.
And that's a lot of money.
But at the
end of the day, that will actually reduce the spending in the county by having that client mix, that resident mix, compared to what we have right now.
So we're looking at that.
We're moving forward.
The planning stages are ongoing.
That money has not been approved yet.
to be spent, that's a projected amount.
But when we look at what I said the spend is over the next 10 years and how that reduces the cost out there, I think it's a change that will be made.
So moving that direction, it's looking pretty good right now.
Well, and we've talked multiple times, and I don't want to get you fired up too early in the day, Lance, but the bed tax has been kind of a driving factor behind some of this change, but then also the ability for
for residents to stay in the same facility as they need in improved care or, I would say improved, but more care.
That's
been the thought behind Edgewater to begin with.
It's to keep those people in the community and those families who spend a lifetime here and have invested in the community.
as the population ages and if you know a parent or a grandparent is there and you tend to care for that family it's nice when they can be within the community and it keeps people within the community
and then
if you can also transition or age within that facility that's also extremely beneficial
and
again you know that facility right now there's a masking
Condition down there where they're doing that probably I'm not sure if that's influenza related or whatever.
I just saw sign put a mask on so we did But that's another thing where the public ought to take a look at that sometime because that is a really nice facility down there Extremely high care one of the highest rated in the state Something that we're extremely proud
of so,
you know, we'll continue to look at the needs of the community We know we have an aging demographic It's gonna have to be addressed and the bed tax is another one that yeah, you'll get me fired up.
It drives me nuts.
It's you know the state
and the federal government says be prepared for the demographic change and the fact that we're aging fairly rapidly.
And we're going to need to have beds available in space to house those people who need that care.
And by the way, but we're going to tax you in the meantime for every bed that you don't use in anticipation of what you're going to need.
And then good luck getting them back later if you don't.
So it's kind of a mixed message.
Yeah, it does drive me nuts.
But it's something we've dealt with.
And this is one of the ways by this transition that we can probably eliminate some of that cost.
And for anybody who.
didn't know about the transition that you're talking about here.
This is about updating and modifying one wing to be more of an assisted living residential care.
Yeah, more of a CBRF kind of, you know, set up where, you know, you can transition from, just to make this really simple, from lesser care to more care as
you go
forward.
And that new unit, as it's, it's not a complete build out.
It's a remodel of what we have.
Right.
But what it does is it makes those more apartment
like before you need to get into more of that skilled nursing facility.
So it's more of like an assisted living for people who can't be in their homes alone anymore.
Absolutely.
And it includes some of those accommodations are for couples.
So, you know, I assume it will work out great.
I've seen some of the plan design, although that's not finalized.
It's looking pretty good.
Well, it'll be exciting to see as that progresses along here.
It is.
And if I may, you know, that's one of the things we talked about the other day.
When we look at
We're gonna have a new board Sitting at the next county board meeting so this last county board meeting was last one in the current configuration because of elections And everybody's gonna see that but when somebody said you know when you look back what happened over the last two years Well, we built our public safety facility the jail We purchased or took over Sarah Park, you know We're finishing this powers bluff project that's been there considerable amount of money spent on child care on developing housing The federally qualified health center that's coming in I mean
A real lot has been accomplished over the last couple of years.
So when you have a chance, thank those board members out in the community because they worked cooperatively to get these things done.
And we anticipate having another really good two years.
And with those elections coming up, there aren't, how many are running for those seats that are going to be open?
Yeah, we will not have wholesale changes on our county board.
There's three seats right now that could change.
You know, I don't anticipate any great change.
We had one candidate who declared on candidacy, and that was John Holkamp.
And families had service to the county for longer than I've been alive.
And that's a considerable amount of time for those of you who don't know me.
But anyway, you know, John declared on candidacy.
There's only one person running there.
We have two contested races.
No matter how those elections and it won't change the overall thought process of the board
and if I look at board members are there There's
19 board members
and
if I look around though, there's some counties like Portage County right next door.
I think they have 11 contested seats I believe So
now that
doesn't mean they will all change.
No, but that's a significant considerable
change and yeah in thought process that can occur mm-hmm
Well, along with the health and human services, Sue Smith has retired now.
I just saw that.
That surprised me.
She hasn't really retired.
What
Sue
did is Sue announced that her retirement date will be next.
March 18th,
okay, so how I miss read that
it so what she did is she put in a date
and
she gave us a date far enough out so we could plan ahead so Sue Smith for those you don't know is our public health director Public health officer and she is one of the most respected in the state in fact I actually had the secretary of the Department of Health come to me at a meeting and say Sue Smith is her mentor so I mean that's how good Sue is and we have one of the most
progressive, leading edge health departments in the state.
And you will hear that from everybody.
Susan, dynamic leader, we wanted to make sure that we transitioned smoothly.
We always look at succession and where we're going.
And, you know, we make every effort to have that, to groom and train and have that candidate be internal, if at all possible.
So Sue gave us a year and said, and I didn't know what I knew was next March.
I found out.
Yesterday, it's March 18th.
So it's March 18th next year.
Next year.
Sue's going to be stepping down and a new director will take
over.
OK.
Well, congratulations to Sue and good luck on the search for the candidate and that transition, because that is a vital service that she does for the community.
Absolutely.
And our department has, when we foresee something like this coming, and we hope we always do, we start to look ahead.
where we're going to be, how do we position ourselves?
And I think if you look at some of the recent changes we've had as department has over the last several years, we've been very successful in that regard.
And so I hope we continue down that road.
Well, a couple of other things I was hoping to touch on here briefly, Lance, the fundraising is now complete for the Safe Haven Baby Box.
That's what I understand.
So, you know, the county participated in this with really just input from some of our supervisors, Jeff Penskover.
probably at the lead of this.
Working
with Sue Smith as well.
Sue Smith, obviously our health department, yeah.
Working through the health department and some of those others with the city in their various departments to finally get this, you know, taken care of.
I was gonna say put to bed, but that's, I guess it is kind
of a great
situation.
However, it looks like we're gonna finally have that done and the fundraising has been complete.
you know, it will be a good program.
I
mean, if
we can save a child's life somewhere, certainly well worth
it.
And for those who aren't familiar with that Safe Haven Baby Box program, this will be one of the few that are this far north in Wisconsin.
Yeah, I believe the closest one right now is Reedsburg,
which is
a significant hike because I go down there every weekend.
I have another home down in that area.
But no, this is, it's a great opportunity.
You know, recently, not too long ago, there's a story about
a life being saved due to a baby box in another community.
There's not a lot of labor that goes into this.
Obviously, you have to be aware of somebody dropping off anonymously a child.
But once it's up and running, it's pretty self-sustaining.
So again, kudos to those who led the charge on this.
And at some point, maybe we'll have one in the northern part of the county
too.
And then one other thing that I was hoping to touch on here is the Wisconsin Rapids Downtown Farmers Market.
They're applying for a tourism grant to be able to enhance the, through the Wisconsin Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, to support public art enhancement adjacent to the market site.
So they're going to beautify the downtown even more.
All of that helps.
When people come into the community and they see those vibrant type events, it lends well to either they want to locate a business here, they want to move here.
Those are fantastic events.
And we already host some huge events in this area.
Like I said, the Wisconsin State Waterski Show tournament, largest waterski tournament in the world, the National BMX Championships, the state cross country meet, the state girls gymnastics meet.
I mean, they all come here for a reason.
It's usually because they say the people are really friendly.
events the more we can do in that direction the better off we are and you know if you've been downtown near the near the courthouse you can see that
progressing as those buildings have come down, you know, that parking and park area will be there.
That's going to be a very attractive area, which will also, I think, encourage additional development downtown.
Mm-hmm.
And then the beautification of the downtown area, it's friendly for visitors and also residents.
Absolutely.
Working
on it
every
day.
Well, Lance, I appreciate you taking the time.
I'm Melissa Kay talking with Wood County Board Chair Lance Plimal.
Thank you, Lance.
Thanks, Melissa.
Always appreciate the opportunity.
And
thank you to listeners joining us for news in our community on Perspective 1320 a.m.
975 FM WFHR.
