Cassian board votes to appeal BOA decision on wellness center CUP

The Cassian town board held a rare Friday night meeting on Aug. 23 to decide whether to appeal the Oneida County Board of Adjustment’s July 25 decision granting a conditional use permit (CUP) to the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council (GLITC) for the construction of a 36-bed adolescent wellness center.

Ultimately, the panel voted unanimously to file an appeal in Oneida County Circuit Court.

The town will ask the court to review the board of adjustment’s decision which reversed the planning and development committee’s denial of the permit back in April.

Originally, GLITC chief executive officer Bryan Bainbridge had planned for construction of the center to begin in October of 2023.

However, the town board opposed the idea.

The town eventually hired attorney Frank Kowalkowski with the Green Bay law firm von Briesen and Roper and ultimately passed a resolution officially opposing GLITC’s plan.

Specifically, the board members expressed concerns about the potential for reduction in residential property value and an increased demand on the town’s infrastructure. Security concerns have also been mentioned.

At the beginning of the Aug. 23 meeting, town chair Patty Francoeur briefly reviewed the CUP application as approved by the BOA, citing each condition that GLITC must meet. She also took input from audience, most of whom were town residents who oppose the project. 

The town had 30 days from the date the decision was filed — Aug. 8 — to appeal to Oneida County Circuit Court so time was of the essence.

Whether or not the town would be successful in circuit court was part of the discussion, with Francoeur letting everyone know “there’s no guarantee” of success. 

Town supervisor Dave Priegnitz, who until a few months ago was on the town’s planning commission before being appointed as town supervisor following the resignation of Dick Herman, let the people in the room know that he, Francoeur and town supervisor John Schaub attended both of the board of adjustment meetings where the wellness center CUP was considered.

The first meeting, held in June, was a day-long session that included a tour of the property where GLITC wants to build the center.

He said members of the BOA “went through all of the nine conditions” and there wasn’t anything under those nine conditions that was a red flag saying it (the CUP application) should be denied.”

Priegnitz also said the planning and development committee made its decision in April because four of the conditions hadn’t been met by GLITC. 

“The board of adjustment went through all of them and they said (GLITC) met all of them,” he explained.

Another unknown is whether GLITC would file its own appeal if the town should prevail at the circuit court level.

“It could be a very expensive process for the town,” Priegnitz noted.

Later, as Francoeur looked to wrap up the meeting, she asked for a consensus, now that the town board had received input from the town residents in attendance. 

Schaub indicated he was in favor of proceeding with an appeal. Priegnitz agreed  but with a note of caution. 

“My feeling is with the discussion we had here ... I’d consider if we go with at least one appeal but if we appeal it, we don’t go any further than one appeal,” Priegnitz said. “Otherwise, we’re just going down a road we don’t want to go.”

Francoeur made a motion to appeal the July 25 BOA decision with the circuit court and depending what happens there, meet again to decide whether to take the matter further. 

“I think we have to take it one step at a time,” she said. 

On Monday, Francoeur told The Lakeland Times Kowalkowski’s staff at had begun preparing the appeal. To this point, the town has spent nearly $50,000 in legal fees related to the AWC issue. 

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].