Addition of Sod, Lack of Bathrooms Key Topics of Discussion Regarding Plaza
More progress for Wenzel Family Plaza takes place tonight, as City of Marshfield Common Council members will decide whether to approve Budget Resolution Request No. 07-2018, transferring $8,000 from the Economic Development 205 Revolving Loan Fund to the Wenzel Family Plaza project to purchase sod.
The proposal originated in the March 8 Economic Development Board meeting, at which time the Board approved spending $8,000 to change out the grass in the Wenzel Family Plaza and replace it with sod, with the goal of having the plaza ready for Farm Tech Days (July 10-12, 2018).
According to Board notes, initial plans for the plaza called for seeded grass. Given the amount of work yet to be completed on the plaza and how weather-dependent the project is, it is unlikely the plaza would be able to host events in 2018 without the installation of sod.
“The EDB recommended adding sod to the project so the Plaza would be ready for use this summer. If we have to wait for grass to take root, the time to use the grass area in the Plaza this year would be cut considerably shorter,” said Josh Miller, Director of Development Services. “To my knowledge, the rest of the landscaping was included in the bid.”
According to Board notes, the original cost estimate was $6,260, but with the potential for damage during the early usage of the plaza, the Economic Development Board was comfortable with allocating additional funds, up to $8,000 for 2018 from their 205 Revolving Loan Fund.
The Finance, Budget, and Personnel Committee recommended approval of the Budget Resolution as presented at their March 20, 2018 Meeting.
“The original bid for grass in the Plaza $6,260.00. In order for grass to fully grow and be ready for such a place would be at least six months for mature grass,” said Mayoral candidate Bob McManus. “Of course, because of weather, regular grass would probably not be planted until May. With that in mind, you can’t have anything on it until November or it would just become a big mess of mud. I wish this would have been thought of in the planning. With this in mind, it does make sense to increase the amount of $8,000.00. I believe in the long run this will be more cost effective as it will require less maintenance.”
“According to the agenda, the monies are coming from the Economic Development Board, not directly from the city,” said Mayoral Candidate Tom Witzel. “I will wait to hear the full explanation before deciding how I will vote on this at the meeting.”
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In addition to the sod, another topic of concern for the plaza has been the absence of planned bathrooms for the plaza. According to Miller, there are no plans to reconsider adding bathrooms at this time.
“The lack of bathrooms has been part of the plan since the final plans were revealed,” said Witzel. “Since downtown organizations, such as Business Improvement District and Main Street Marshfield have been involved with planning for the plaza, and since many of the downtown businesses are part of those organizations, I believe this information has been communicated already. As the plaza nears completion, we need to be sure that everyone, including residents are fully informed.”
BID Member Carol Knauf, owner of Main Street shop Rae Baxter’s Fashions, expressed concern about the lack of bathrooms and the communication involved.
“I feel grossly misinformed with the construction of Wenzel Plaza plans. Not including restrooms for the public is a disaster!” she said. “Portable bathrooms for the events is not the answer and the public will look to businesses to use their bathrooms. If restrooms are not included, the Wenzel Plaza will not be utilized to its fullest possibilities.”
“The City absolutely should be communicating with the Downtown businesses the plan for public restrooms for the Plaza,” said McManus. “There will be portable bathrooms for events, which will be helpful, however, this will still create an increase of foot traffic into businesses in the immediate area and they should be notified.”
