TOWN OF ROCKLAND (NBC 26) — This week, the Rockland Town Board and the Greenleaf Village Board voted unanimously to merge together in order to protect Rockland's boundaries with De Pere.
The Town of Rockland area was first settled in 1851. Now, it will be a part of the Village of Greenleaf.
"We'll loose the name of Rockland, but at the same time, we're not losing the land, we're not losing the residents," Dennis Cashman, Town of Rockland chairman, said.
Rockland and Greenleaf made the decision during a public hearing on Monday, Aug. 10. Cashman says the decision was made to protect the Town's border with the City of De Pere and keep the area's rural feel.
"The merger that we've been working on since the beginning of the year is an intergovernmental agreement to move our border line to the north and consolidate services," he said. "It will help stop annexation with the city of De Pere coming any farther south because we've been losing too much land over the last 20 years."
The City of De Pere was unavailable for an interview on Thursday night, but said in a statement to NBC 26:
"We appreciate the opportunity to respond and provide additional information related to the Greenleaf/Rockland merger. The City of De Pere and the Town of Rockland have had historic tense relationships rooted in failed boundary agreement discussions that occurred over 15 years ago. The sentiment on our end has changed since then. When we became aware of this agreement a few weeks ago, we reached out to the Town Chair multiple times in an effort to re-open boundary agreement discussions so that Rockland can retain its rural character and property owners along De Pere's southern border can retain their right to choose. The Town declined to discuss the matter further. As a point of clarification, the City of De Pere does not, and cannot, annex privately owned properties. The ability to annex into a neighboring community is a right reserved for the property owner and governed by state statutes. We will continue to seek genuine opportunities to work with Rockland/Greenleaf and believe that regional collaboration is the best way for all communities to achieve their collective future goals."
As part of the merger, The Village of Greenleaf will more than double, in both land area and population. The Village will take over Rockland's government, but two Town representatives will be added to the new Village Board. Residents of the Town of Rockland will keep the same home address, school district and municipal services like garbage collection, police and EMS
"Quite honestly, a lot doesn't change," Cashman said.
David Lee, a resident of the Town of Rockland, attended Monday's public hearing. He says there were at least 250 people there.
“There was a sadness in the air, because we’re losing something, but we’re not losing everything," he said.
Lee has deep familial ties to the area.
"We settled here in 1851," he said. "I think they picked this region because it resembled their home in Germany.”
When he first heard of the merger, he says he was taken aback.
“Initially, I didn’t like the idea. We have roots here, and my family settled in Rockland. They didn’t settle in Greenleaf," he said.
But now, Lee says he sees this decision as the best future for Rockland.
“It was either get taken over or join a partner, and I think we joined a good partner in Greenleaf, and I’m excited," he said.
