October 13, 2022 at 2:34 p.m.

City to buy billboard after mayor breaks council deadlock

City to buy billboard after mayor breaks council deadlock
City to buy billboard after mayor breaks council deadlock

By Heather Schaefer-heather@rivernewsonline.com

The City of Rhinelander is poised to buy a billboard on State Highway 17 South after Mayor Kris Hanus broke a 4-4 council tie Monday evening on a resolution authorizing the purchase.

According to the resolution, the billboard is located adjacent to the city wastewater treatment facility entrance. The purchase price is $4,000 and the funds would come from the city's portion of room tax revenue, the resolution states.

"The city wishes to promote the city and its amenities to residents and visitors and the city maintains a Room Tax fund with a city-designated portion," the resolution states.

The resolution was included in the "consent agenda" for the council's Monday evening meeting, however it was removed at the request of alderman Gerald Anderson.

Several alderpersons expressed skepticism about the wisdom of the city purchasing a billboard.

"This doesn't seem like a particularly great location for use of (room tax) dollars to generate income here," noted city council president Eileen Daniel. "It's on Highway 17... I was on Highway 17 this weekend, I might have seen three other cars while I traversed the 20 miles I drove, so I'm just wondering if this is the best use of that money."

Alderman Steven Jopek said he understands the intent would be to promote upcoming events as people are driving into town but he wanted to know what it would take to light the structure.

"One concern I have is if it's not lit, the number of times I've driven on that road at night, if it's not lit you're not going to see it anyway," he said.

"As far as the lighting goes, it really comes down to whether the DOT (Department of Transportation) would permit that and we have not had that conversation with them because it would require a new permit," city administrator Zach Vruwink explained.

Daniel asked city attorney Steve Sorenson whether he is aware of other cities owning this type of billboard.

"It seems like a strange purchase for a city," she said.

Sorenson replied that "welcome to" signs are common but, in his experience, billboards of this type are usually the result of a cooperative effort between a city and a nonprofit.

"I'm just going to go on record saying I don't think this is a great investment for the city," Daniel replied. "That's just my opinion."

"We're not saying how we're going to use the board at this point, just if we're going to acquire it or not," Hanus said. "This council could dictate that we rent it out for cash-flow purposes, since it's on city property... or we could use to advertise amenities in the city."

Jopek was concerned that the city could be left owning a billboard that others aren't interested in renting.

"I'd like to see a plan in place before we invest the money when we could invest the money somewhere else," he said.

Alderman Tom Barnett made a motion to table the resolution to the next meeting to allow time for further study but the proposal failed.

As the discussion continued, alderman Tom Kelly asked if the city could offer the owner of the billboard $3,000.

Hanus responded by noting that the seller was originally asking for $10,000 and has indicated $4,000 is the lowest amount it will accept.

When the roll was called, alderpersons Carrie Mikalauski and LeAnn Felten joined Anderson and Kelly in voting to purchase the billboard. Alderpersons Daniel, Holt, Jopek and Barnett vote against the resolution.

"So, is that approved?" Hanus asked after all votes were cast.

"That's a tie," responded city clerk Austyn Zarda.

"It's a tie," Hanus said. "Well I, with my first tie, say yes to buying a billboard. So motion approved."

Heather Schaefer may be reached at heather@rivernewsonline.com.

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