UPDATE: Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson has vetoed a resolution that would allow the use of eminent domain to get a piece of property in Appleton for the Sheriff's Department's new home.
He released a statement saying:
“In light of new information on Wednesday that a company is interested in using the Goodland property to create about 100 new jobs, it would not be prudent to support this legislation. Therefore I am vetoing Resolution 28 2016-17.
“Wednesday night, the county board made a difficult decision. Supervisors carefully reviewed the information and weighed their votes soberly. I thank them for their thoughtful deliberation and look forward to working with them on this and other matters.”
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APPLETON, WI -- The Outagamie County Board has voted to use eminent domain to get a piece of property in Appleton for the sheriff department's new home.
Tonight's meeting was tense at times, with the vote passing 17 to 11.
The vote was difficult for many on the Board, who say they've been caught in a quagmire of either disappointing the sheriff's department, or the Appleton business community.
Family owned company J.F. Ahern, which specializes in firefighting protection equipment, had placed an offer for the site, and building, at 3030 East Goodland Drive, which the property owner accepted.
But the County had also placed an offer on the property first, and some claim they weren't allowed to counter offer before a deal was struck.
The site is apparently the top pick for the sheriff's department, given the building's easy adaptability to the sheriff department's needs, location to the highway, and cheaper price tag than the County-owned "plan b" site along Casaloma Drive--by $2 million.
While the Casaloma Drive site wouldn't need to be purchased, County leaders say they would need to build an entire building suited for the sheriff department's needs, along with other work on the site.
"One of the key drivers behind moving the sheriff's department was to get the law enforcement division closer to [Highway] 41/441," explains County Attorney Joe Guidote, "so that deputies could get out to their locations, or to emergencies in the outlying areas, more quickly."
Meanwhile, the business interested in the site says they employ 1,300 people--more than 200 in the Appleton area--and want to keep their footprint in the Fox Cities.
Tonight, those against the use of eminent domain to obtain the site say this is County government at its worst.
"And now, the other party-which happens to be the County-says, 'oh, we're upset with the process, we really want that piece of property," says Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna hours before the meeting, "so, we're going to use our power to ace you out of a contract-of a legal contract."
"In terms of responding to legitimate offers, with legitimate business people looking to expand their business," explains a frustrated John Pfefferle, who was assisting J.F. Ahern in purchasing the property for expanding their business, "it sends a negative message to the entire community, and it's very difficult to swallow."
Meanwhile, Sheriff Bradley Gehring says he sympathizes with the Board's tough decision, but defends the department's interest in the site.
"We've been talking about this for 16 months," explains Gehring before the vote, "and this is the only facility that's come on our radar screen that has so many attractive potentials to it."
The vote could be contested on a couple grounds, but realtors working with J.F. Ahern say it's unlikely the owners will go through with fighting it.
Now, County leaders say they'll start appraisals on the site to figure out how much the property owner deserves under just compensation.
According to initial appraisals presented by the Outagamie Co. Sheriff's Department during the meeting, the total cost for the Goodland Drive site, after modifications, would be $3.4 million
Constructing a new building that would suit the needs of the sheriff's department at the Casaloma Drive site would coast $5.4 million, according to County leaders.
