OVTC considers land possibilities for new facility

The Oneida Vilas Transportation Commission (OVTC), which oversees Northwoods Transit Connections (NTC), is still searching for a new home for an NTC facility.

At the moment, NTC operates out of a facility it rents on State Highway 47 in Rhinelander near the intersection of Hwy. 8.

Coming on the heels of receipt in October of a space needs analysis, the commission last week authorized NTC director Barb Newman to contact the City of Rhinelander and Oneida County regarding nearly 10 acres of land on Hanson Lake Road that is, according to commission member Richard Logan, on Hanson Lake across the highway from the current NTC headquarters. 

Logan is also a member of the commission’s building committee which on Nov. 14 did an onsite visit of that parcel as well as another nearly four-acre parcel in the town of Pelican. 

“It would need a bit more work,” he said of the Hanson Lake Road property. “We really need to find out more from the owners, which is the City of Rhinelander and Oneida County, before we really proceed on that.”

The other location, Logan said, is “a really nice lot” on Taylor Road in Pelican. 

He said it was level and is in an area he described as “a safe place to access.”

The price of the lot, listed with a realtor, is $110,000. 

“It’s a really nice lot,” Logan said. “It’s really level ... any lot is going to take some work but it would be minimal.”

He said he felt until the commission knows more from the City of Rhinelander and Oneida County about the Hanson Lake Road  property, “it would be hard to take any action on that.”

Logan said the building committee’s recommendation regarding architectural and engineering work was to proceed with that “up to the point of going out to bid” for proposals.

“Do all the prep work for that,” he said. “There’s a lot of paperwork for that. An awful lot of paperwork but do all of that work but don’t go out for bids on that until we know more about the land.”

The commission ultimately made the decision to proceed with whatever preliminary work needs to be done as recommended. 

Newman said after the meeting she would be “reaching out” to the City of Rhinelander and Oneida County regarding the Hanson Lake Road property.

As for the lot in the town of Pelican, she said she would hold off until it was known “what direction we’re going.”

Other matters

In other business, the commission also:

• Approved three routes for NTC buses during 2025. 

One of the routes starts in Woodruff with stops in Winchester, Manitowish Waters and Boulder Junction; the second route would start in Eagle River with stops in Conover and Land O’Lakes and the third route would start in Rhinelander and have stops in Hazelhurst and Minocqua.

• Approved a payment of $5,000 each to Vilas and Oneida counties as part of the repayment of $50,000 to each county. 

The money was used to help get NTC established in 2017. With receipt by each county of the $5,000, the OVTC will have repaid $20,000 of the $50,000 to each county. 

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