City council OKs Northwood G.C. rate hikes

Golfers will pay more at Rhinelander’s Northwood Golf Club in 2026.

Golf course general manager Keith Staron appeared before the Rhinelander city council at its Nov. 24 meeting with his analysis of the rates at the golf course, relative to the rates at nearby courses. He said, just to keep up with expenses, he felt rates needed to increase by $5 across the board. A $2 increase was put into the budget for 2026, so this would mean there would be a potential increase in revenue for the coming year. These increases for 2026, his analysis showed, still kept the rates at Northwood Golf Course below the rates charged by other golf courses in 2025.

This rate increase would mean the cost for nine-hole play, walking, would increase to $33, and with a cart to $43. Eighteen holes would increase to $40 and $60, respectively for residents. The resident league 12-play pass would increase to $276 walking and $396 riding. Non-resident rates would increase to $40 and $50 for nine holes and $60 and $80 for 18 holes.

Staron said they would be looking at replacing the roof of the 35-year-old clubhouse as well as doing chinking and restaining work as well. Initial quotes on that work, he said, is over $80,000.

Mayor Kris Hanus asked if there was an expected loss of rounds played due to the rate increase. Staron told the council that there was a bit of kick back initially last year when rates were raised, but then those objections seemed to fade and there was no loss of rounds played this year He said he expected that to be the case for 2026 as well, with this new rate increase. He said all other golf courses have said they planned to raise rates by about the same amount due to increased costs industry wide. The resolution to increase rates as presented passed unanimously.

PFAS treatment of city wells 7 and 8

Greg Dressler of Town and Country Engineering, Inc. spoke to the council about the pilot study for treatment of PFAS in wells seven and eight. He said pilot testing is required by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) before approval of any treatment project.

Dressler said there were two types of testing that could be done, but the DNR strongly recommended on-site testing, which is a bit more costly. However, it does give a better sense of how long the media put into the filters is going to last. 

The company Town and Country recommended the city contract with is WaterSurplus, a company near Rockford, Ill. The cost of the pilot testing, according to the resolution, would be $36,250. He said Town and Country had worked with WaterSurplus for approximately five years on different projects around the state. 

The test would include four different types of media side by side. Pilot testing would continue for six to nine months, or until the media started to break down and PFAS began to be found in the water again. This would allow the city to test different types of media, with two being granular activated carbon and the other two are basically ion exchange resins. Understanding how long each media would last would allow the city to get a better idea of the projected costs involved in treatment and which media would be the most cost-effective, based on the water.

There was some discussion about the pilot testing process and water usage as well as the water that would, as a result of the testing, be allowed to infiltrate back into the ground once tested. Dressler said the water that would return to the environment would be treated, making it essentially better than it was prior to running through the filters.

“So at least from a peace of mind point of view, the surrounding community around there, we’re slowly cleaning that up, at least for the testing purposed and there’s no real concern on that activity having an impact on their drinking water,” Hanus said. 

The pilot testing and subsequent water samples would be reimbursed through the grant, once that grant was approved. The pilot testing with WaterSurplus was approved.

Spruce Street improvement project 

In another matter, the council looked at doing some improvements to streets on the west side of the city, They approved the mayor to sign amendment #1 to the engineering agreement with Town and Country for preliminary design of the Spruce Street improvement project. 

It’s part of what the Hanus said would be approximately an eight-year project to complete much needed improvements to streets and utilities on the west side. This would also improve walkability on the west side and help with the proposed bike trail project. The council approved this cost not to exceed $60,000.  

Mark Barden of Town and County said this project had been on the city’s capital improvement plan for the last three years. He said the entire project would likely come in at near $9 million. He would be looking for Rural Development funding as well as Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water funding for this project. He mentioned it would be two years out to get the plan in place and get the funding sources in place. He said he felt by the spring of next year, he would have design contracts in place with construction contracts in place by the fall of 2026.

Fireworks display agreement

Hanus said J&M Display had been contracted with the city for many years to handle the fireworks display on the Fourth of July. The cost for the 2026 display would be $24,990, with an 8 percent prepayment bonus product in the fireworks display if payment is received prior to April 25, 2026. Hanus said the cost had stayed the same for the last couple of years. Alderpersons voted unanimously to contract again with J&M Display.

Other business

City administrator Patrick Reagan began the discussion of the city’s fee schedule for short term rentals. The resolution before the council recommended a $300 initial application fee and a $200 annual renewal. Reagan said those amounts were in line with what other municipalities were charging.

City clerk Austyn Zarda said the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) conduct weights and measures inspections for various businesses around the city. The city then assessed the businesses the amount charged as well as other expenses incurred. The businesses that are inspected within a given year would be charged administrative fees, which would be $10. These fee schedule changes were approved. 

The city was also looking to replace the current zoning administrator Veronica Tonnancour. Reagan said there did not seem to be anyone who was qualified that could take that position. With that, he said, SAFEBuilt, Inc. could fill the role remotely. The company handles over 70 municipalities currently, according to Dave Henrichs, who was present virtually at the meeting. 

Reagan said many of these types of services were being handled remotely today, and it did offer some cost benefits of not having in-person employees. He said it would be a yearly contract, with the option to look at filling that role in a different manner if the city found it was not working as they had planned. He said he would bring a zoning permit application back to the council in December to ensure the fees were right-sized based on costs of a system like this. Both resolutions, for signing an agreement with SAFEBuilt for zoning administration as well as residential inspection services, which would be done virtually as well, were approved.

The last resolution on the agenda was looking for support of redevelopment of the property at 730 W. Kemp Street, where the county shop is currently located. The county, Hanus said, had been looking at their options when it came to fixing up the current location or relocating altogether.

“For me this has kind of been a pet project, because it’s an ugly facility when you drive into Rhinelander. I’m going to be blunt,” Hanus said. “That is the gateway from our airport. That is the gateway into our city. It is one of the main highways that show Rhinelander, and I don’t want to look at a pile of sand or a decrepit building from the 40s.” He said there were also issues with safety, the DNR, and being located on railroad property. From a real estate point of view, Hanus said, it was one of the most prime locations in not only the city, but the county, and it was currently providing zero tax base. 

The resolution, he said, would simply inform the county that they would like to be a partner in improving the city and what is provided to people who visit the area. He said the resolution was not binding, nor did it allocate any funds. It was simply to inform the county the city would like to have a seat at the table when looking at the potential next use of that property. The resolution passed unanimously.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].