Representatives from the Village of Ellsworth and Coulee River Trails appeared before the Pierce County Ad Hoc ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Committee Tuesday, April 18 with revised requests for a portion of the county’s $8.3 million in federal funds.

The Ad-Hoc Committee’s purpose is to figure out how to appropriate the county’s $8.3 million in awarded ARPA funds, which are to be used to create a stronger national economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds can be used to:

• Replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services up to the amount of revenue lost due to the pandemic
• Respond to the far-reaching public health and negative economic impacts of the pandemic, by supporting the health of communities, and helping households, small businesses, impacted industries, nonprofits, and the public sector recover from economic impacts
• Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical sectors
• Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, to support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand affordable access to broadband internet

Village of Ellsworth

The Village of Ellsworth used some of its ARPA funds to purchase the dilapidated old junior high building at 254 S. Chestnut St. in August 2022 for $25,000. The building was not properly maintained and cannot be salvaged.

Village Administrator Clerk/Treasurer Brad Roy said the village is looking for help in revitalizing the 2.35-acre blighted property into workforce housing. 

“We’re looking at tearing that down and bringing in multi-family housing,” Roy said. “We’re getting to the point where it’s desperately needed.”

The most recent cost estimate to demolish the building and make the site development ready is $1,212,606 (on the high end). Roy said the village would like 20-50 workforce housing units to be built on the site. The village established a Tax Increment District to fund the demolition and provide development incentives.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Ellsworth has 116 more jobs than the number of workers who live in the village. Four area employers (Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services, Pierce County, and Ellsworth Community School District) were recently surveyed about the number of employees living within the Ellsworth zip code. Of those four employers, 29% of full-time salaried and 43% of full-time hourly employees reside within the 54011 zip code.

Roy said those employers find it difficult to retain employees, which in part can be attributed to the lack of adequate workforce housing. Employees often find new employment opportunities closer to where they live. 

“We have a housing need and it is impacting our businesses,” Roy said. “We’ve heard from businesses they are having trouble attracting and retaining employees.”

Roy said the village has taken many actions to move the project forward since its initial request to the county. For example, the village is moving ahead with sanitary sewer, storm sewer, watermain and street reconstruction in that neighborhood in order for new development to be feasible. The village board also hired CBS Squared to move the demolition plans and asbestos abatement forward and has applied for a Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Site Assessment Grant of $150,000 for the demolition.

The initial analysis from the Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corporation shows that building 50 units would require a $12 million investment. Ideally, the village would like to avoid using TID financing, which could limit options for developers.

“If you are able to have a clean site, this group could come in and have access to outside funding sources to develop up to 50 units with no local match as long as it stays off the local tax roll?” Administrative Coordinator Jason Matthys asked.

Pierce County Economic Development Director Joe Folsom explained why.

“We need that additional capital infusion to be able to bring those costs down so we can reach the target market for workforce housing,” Folsom said. “Having the TID make that payment (for the demo) will increase the operating costs for the project and decreases the affordability.”

Certain funding options dictate the number of housing units dedicated to low-income, moderate income and market-rate.  

“Reducing or eliminating the demolition costs will allow the village to explore all options for development of the site,” a memo in the committee packet states.

Committee member Kris Sampson asked what village is doing to get people to move there. She said Prescott has the same problem: Not enough workforce housing.

Roy detailed how the village is planning to revise its zoning ordinance, implement downtown design guidelines and work with developers to secure state funding for developments.

The village is looking for any amount from the county toward the junior high demolition.

Coulee River Trails

President of the Friends of Freedom Park Jeff Ruehle said part of Freedom Park’s mission (200 Monroe St., Prescott) is to draw the community together and people from around the country to visit. The visitor’s center had 10,500 visitors last year.

Coulee River Trails, first conceived in 2006, is a nonprofit group under the fiscal sponsorship of Friends of Freedom Park. Its goal is to develop and maintain a regional trail system, conserve unique habitat and history of the confluence region, and provide a place for recreation and exploration.

When CRT volunteer Israel Haas first requested ARPA funds from the county in February 2022, the full financial need was up in the air. The group wants to create up to 20 miles of multi-use trails in the area where the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers meet.

“We originally submitted $3.8 million based on estimates, based on our vision for what could happen here,” Haas said. “We’re dialing that in here today. We are asking for support for specifically Zone 4, the most strategic investment of county money.”

Zone 4 of the project encompasses Pine Coulee, which the group has made an agreement to purchase. The Joint Finance Committee recently approved funding in the form of a Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grant totaling $461,000 to help purchase the 76-acre parcel from a private owner. The grant requires a local match, for which CRT is requesting county ARPA funds.

“The faster we can get the match, the faster we can get this into public hands and open it up for public use,” Haas said.

Pine Coulee is a scenic, rocky gorge that flows into the Mississippi River south of Freedom Park. It also contains degraded oak savanna, shoreline and a riparian ecosystem along the coulee.

Rick Remington, executive director of Landmark Conservancy, is also working with CRT to acquire the parcel south of Freedom Park. Landmark Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust in northwest Wisconsin dedicated to preserving the state’s natural legacy.

“We have done a number of projects in Pierce County,” Remington said.

Those include the Martell community park on Rush River, the former Judge McEwen property along the Trimbelle River, and the Pine Creek fishery area in the town of Maiden Rock.

“Folks call our office every week with great ideas, but they’re just that – great ideas,” Remington said. “They kind of die on the vine.”

He applauded the thoughtful process CRT underwent in garnering local support from the City of Prescott, the National Park System, citizens, the Town of Oak Grove and community groups.

CRT has a purchase agreement of $950,000 for Pine Coulee through Dec. 31, 2024. The property is appraised at $1.2 million.

Sampson said it’s known to locals as the old party spot down from Pine Glen Cemetery.

“It’s one of those places that you can’t really grasp until you’ve been in it, how it accesses the Mississippi,” she said. “We don’t have enough trails or access to the Mississippi in Pierce County/ One of the big directives of the COVID funds is outside free access. This really hits the target.”

Landmark will continue to own the property after the purchase until a more suitable owner steps forward to manage it, such as the city or county, Remington said.

“Going forward, when we are successful, because one way or another we will be successful, it will be public open space,” Remington said.

“It’s a special place that has always attracted attention,” Haas added. “It has been open in the past for various people. The National Park Service said this is special, in a natural standpoint in the flyway, but also its proximity to a major Metropolitan area.”

For more information, visit couleerivertrails.org