The Eagle River City Council voted unanimously last week to ban new storage units in Highway Commercial zoning districts, while keeping them fully permitted in Industrial areas.
Previously, developers could apply for a conditional use permit to build storage units on Highway Commercial property, but that option has now been eliminated.
The original draft of the ordinance proposed removing storage units from Highway Commercial zones while also changing how they are handled in Industrial zones — moving them from “permitted by right” to requiring a conditional use permit. After that proposal deadlocked 2-2 at the plan commission, it moved to the city council for a final decision.
City Administrator Robin Ginner clarified that under current city rules, storage units are permitted by right in Industrial districts. The council’s primary debate was whether to add extra oversight by making them a conditional use in those industrial areas as well.
“I think it’s an appropriate use in Industrial. I don’t want to see any in Highway Commercial,” said Alderman Vic Washelesky.
Washelesky then made a motion to amend Ordinance 607 by striking sections 2 and 3 — which leaves Industrial rules as they are — while keeping section 1 to eliminate storage units from Highway Commercial zones.
The amended ordinance passed the council unanimously.
The council has allowed the Sno-Eagles Snowmobile Club’s request for permission to build a new groomer shed on Department of Public Works shop property at 1020 Bluebird Lane. The current building is too small for the club’s needs and can only house one groomer..
A bigger building would allow space to hold the Sno-Eagles’ three groomers, and also allow indoor areas to perform maintenance which is not currently available. Due to the low 9.5-foot ceiling clearance on the existing building, there is not enough space to open up groomers inside to perform maintenance or repairs, which means volunteers are forced to work outside in brutal temperatures when a machine goes down.
Besides having at least 14-foot ceilings and enough space for three groomers, the proposed building would have a bathroom, kitchenette, and meeting room area. Wolf also noted they were considering putting an exterior bathroom that would be open to snowmobile and ATV/UTV trail users who use the nearby trailhead.
Wolf said fundraising efforts will kick off this month, and initial projections for the building cost will be $700,000-$800,000.
Since the new groomer barn would be built on city land, all final plans would come back to the city for approval before any construction begins. Wolf said they are still in the early stages and surveys still need to be done. This would be added on to their current lease with the city.
Ginner noted there will be two road project delays, but both are still on the books to be completed.
Due to a delayed bidding process, the city’s chipsealing work — including the double chipsealing on the parking lot behind BMO Bank — that was scheduled to be done this year will be postponed until next spring with the contractor honoring 2026 pricing.
McKinley road work that was originally slated for 2027 has been postponed to 2028 and could have a larger scope, including water main work beneath the street.
Mike Sanborn, utility manager of Eagle River Light and Water, said there have been four big water main breaks in recent years, calling it “probably the worst section of water main in the city.” Since the road will be torn up for the repaving project, that would also be the time to fix utility issues beneath.
The city is looking at how to adjust the width of McKinley and possibly add a bike and pedestrian lane. Ginner has looked at adding a bike path but couldn’t secure grant funding. She is continuing to look into other options. “It’s still a possibility,” she said.
Ginner also noted that the $385,610 grant through the Wisconsin Local Roads Improvement Program to resurface McKinley Road will still be good for the 2028 timeline.
Sanborn reported the 500,000-gallon holding tank was getting full last spring, and previous spreading locations were not available. Since then, he and the city have been looking to secure a location to spread the sludge.
He was happy to report that a five-year contract is now in place to spread wastewater sludge on a property located in the town of Washington. Sanborn said they also received approval from the DNR on a second portion of the land owned by the same property owner.
“That should clear the tank and we should be set annually for the next five years,” he said.
“Darrell (Rutkowski, treatment plant supervisor) does a good job down there,” Sanborn said.
The city received updates and approved a number of agenda items during the meeting, as well as appointed Becky Boxrucker to fill the vacancy in District 4, Ward 5 caused by former Alderman Dan Dumas’ resignation. Boxrucker is a third-generation Eagle River resident and worked as a teacher with Northland Pines School District for 32 years.
Her term will end in April 2027, at which point she will decide if she wants to run to retain the seat. Dumas resigned because he moved out of the bounds of his district and was no longer eligible for the seat.
A request made by the River Trail Commission and Great Headwaters Trail Foundation for a perpetual recreation easement was okayed by the council with added verbiage to protect the city from unexpected trail costs as well as provide an out clause.
Tony Sable reported that the golf course is in “great shape,” had an excellent turnout for Labor Day weekend, and they should have “no problem powering through $1 million again this year.” He also reported the paneling was installed on the golf cart barn and it looks “about 1,000 times better.”
The Eagle River Fire Department continues to be extremely busy with a year-to-date call number of 241. Chief Jim Randall indicated that was one call more than they received in all of last year. The department continues to struggle with having enough personnel. “We have been running nonstop,” he said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here