OVTC moves closer to possible land acquisition for new headquarters

The effort by the Oneida Vilas Transit Commission (OVTC), which oversees Northwoods Transit Connections (NTC) to procure land for a new administration, shop and bus storage facility for the NTC got another boost Tuesday from the Oneida County board’s land records committee.

On Oct. 2, the board’s public works committee had forwarded to the land information department a request from the OVTC regarding the use of four acres of county-owned property along Lake Julia Road in the town of Pelican. 

The parcel the OVTC’s building committee is looking at is part of 37.5 acres of county-owned land.

At the Oct. 14 land records committee meeting, land information department head Sara Chiamulera said “10 or 12 years ago” the acreage had been considered as a possible new site for the county highway department’s Rhinelander shop currently on Kemp Street. 

“That isn’t in the works right now,” she said, adding county highway commissioner Alex Hageman had let her know “there’s no motion going forward that he has been told to analyze this piece anymore for that purpose but even if he did ...”

“There’s still room,” committee member and public works committee chairman Ted Cushing said.

Chiamulera said the request from the OVTC had gone through the public works committee “to make sure if they needed this parcel, it was still accessible to them” and that NTC director Barb Newman, attending Tuesday’s meeting via phone, would “carry through” with development from the OVTC end should the county ultimately decide to either give the four acres to the OVTC or sell it to the agency. 

“We would need to work with a surveyor and get that lot split out,” Chiamulera said of the four acres. “What I’ve learned from the zoning department is the town of Pelican has a 50,000 square foot minimum lot size and would require a one or a two-lot CSM (certified survey map) to split that piece because then it would need to be decided if we sell that piece to the (OVTC) or gifted it or however those things happened.”

Chiamulera said there would be no cost to the county as the OVTC has grant funding lined up.

“So, what are we looking for?” committee member Kyle Timmons asked. “Send this to the county board?”

Cushing said it should next go to the county board’s executive committee, Chiamulera confirming there are several items that need to be addressed by both the county and the OVTC as the matter moves forward. 

“I know (the public works committee) had no issue with it,” Cushing said, reaffirming the matter should next go to the executive committee and not to the full county board quite yet. “If it was private property, it’s a different story.” 

He made the motion to proceed working with the OVTC on procuring four acres, Timmons seconded it and it passed unanimously.

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