Wausau struggles with proposed changes to parks control

Damakant Jayshi and Shereen Siewert

Amid sharp discussion Tuesday, Wausau’s Parks and Recreation Committee approved an agreement to shift control of the city’s parks to Marathon County, but postponed a decision on whether to shift the group to an advisory-only role.

Wausau delegated all control of its parks to Marathon County through a 1974 agreement, but many details were not specified. In past years, the city discussed taking the parks department back in-house, but the operations are so deeply integrated that the split would be “historically expensive,” Alder Lisa Rasmussen said.

The Park Commission is answerable to the Marathon County Board of Supervisors, while employees of the Wausau and Marathon County Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department are county employees. The cost of departmental staff and equipment is shared 50/50 by Wausau and Marathon County as well as the cost of administrative office space and utilities provided in county-owned facilities. The intergovernmental contract aims to provide clarification and direction, said Parks Director Jamie Polley.

Rasmussen said the agreement gives Wausau a seat at the table for performance accountability, which the city so far does not have. “We’ve been operating on legally what is the equivalent of a handshake because there isn’t a document that outlines who does what and for whom,” she said. “There’s nothing in the agreement that isn’t already happening.”

The committee voted 4-1 to approve the intergovernmental agreement with Alder Lou Larson voting against.

But the discussion over whether to change Wausau’s Parks Committee from its current standing form to an advisory body generated more serious discussion and some disagreement.

Speaking during a Committee of the Whole meeting last week, several alders said they feared that converting the Parks and Recreation Committee into an advisory-only role or abolishing the group altogether would dilute the authority the city has over its parks.

During that meeting, Polley tried to allay fears about any dilution of the city’s authority over its own parks but on Monday she had a pointed back-and-forth with Attorney Anne Jacobson and ignored committee Chair Lou Larson’s instructions to not speak on a few occasions during the debate on the impact of the intergovernmental agreement and committee’s character.

Once again on Monday, some alders raised concerns over losing oversight over the city’s parks. While the joint Park Commission has three members each – three alders and three board supervisors from outside the city – and a citizen member, the county will effectively be the final governing body, contrary to assertions made by Polley and a few alders.

Alder Carol Lukens said she and some other alders were not comfortable with making a decision on changing the Parks and Recreation Committee from a standing committee to an advisory body until they know about the implications of the change. She said this after Polley said the Commission will make decisions on policy and operational aspects of the city’s parks.

Neal criticized information included in the committee’s packets as inadequate, lacking crucial details that would aid in making a decision on the matter.

“There’s nothing there showing us an A or B or how we can compare,” Neal said. “It would help to have options in front of us.”

Jacobson acknowledged that many details would have to be worked out, issues that Wausau has approved and been involved in over past years, though Polley interjected several times to defend the current processes by the county.

Neal said citizens want the committee to make decisions that affect them, from prohibitions on smoking to special event requirements, hours of operations for skating rinks and pools and other matters.

He added that the city committee would go from “making a decision” regarding its parks to “asking” for permission from the Park Commission. That gave him a pause on the proposal to change the nature of the parks committee.

“That’s the purview of this committee, on their behalf to propose things, decide on things and not just ask for things,” Neal said. “I don’t know that the hours of operation at swimming pools need to go to a county commission.”

Alders Rasmussen and Sarah Watson not only supported approving the intergovernmental agreement, but also converting their committee into an advisory body and using the Joint Park Commission to protect the interests of the city. Rasmussen said the revised committee could work along the lines of the city’s Airport Committee, which is responsible for the maintenance, operation, control, fees and charges, and the contracted services for the Wausau Downtown Airport. All capital projects and budgetary matters are decided by the Finance Committee and the Common Council.

But Neal quickly pointed out that in the case of the parks committee, they will have to deal with an additional layer, the county.

Rasmussen rejected the notion that the city would lose input if the change is approved.

“Going to an advisory panel protects our ability to have that local discussion here still, but it also solves the problem of a committee that was created in 2002 or 2003 that didn’t have the authority it thought it had,” Rasmussen said. “I think we’d achieve the same results.”

Recalling his experience at the Park Commission, Larson said he hadn’t experienced city’s issues being highlighted there. Even while he was speaking, Polley interrupted and pointed out that that hasn’t happened yet “because we haven’t been operating that way.” So far, she added, that the city parks matter came to the committee and the county’s parks to the commission. Henceforth, all park matters will go to the commission, the way it is supposed to work.

After Lukens sided with Larson and Neal on voting against the proposal on the committee’s status, Rasmussen suggested giving a month for the city attorney to review existing city ordinances and documents, while clarifying the city’s responsibilities and roles. All the members agreed to table the proposal for one month, after which the committee will make a final decision on its status.

An addendum attached to the committee’s meeting packet also specifies the county’s oversight over administrative functions like negotiating and approving city-specific contracts and leases and selling daily and annual passes for all city park facilities and operational and maintenance aspects. The city has 34 parks ranging from 0.2 to 73 acres and the county has 17 parks, with sizes ranging from 0.42 to 1,453 acres.