OVTC gets its space needs analysis for new building

The Oneida Vilas Transit Commission (OVTC) received an overview of a space needs assessment for a new facility at its Oct. 24 meeting.

The OVTC oversees Northwoods Transit Connections (NTC) which has public transportation routes established in Oneida and Vilas counties and is currently based in a rented facility in Rhinelander.

The commission has been looking for some time now at finding a new home for NTC, be it an existing facility or one that needs to be constructed. 

Tyler Allison with Angus-Young Architects and Engineers went over the assessment with members of the OVTC to include a cost estimate of $3.7 million for a nearly 9,000 square foot building.

That estimate includes one remote NTC building either in Minocqua or Eagle River. A second remote location would bring the figure to roughly $4 million. 

Oneida County supervisor Steve Schreier, at one time a member of the OVTC, brought up the fact the county board “again entertaining talk about a public works facility.”

“I’m just thinking if we have Department of Transportation (DOT) dollars that maybe can be utilized to maybe help facilitate a municipal building that could incorporate more than just public works,” he said. “Why build three different wash bays all over the county when you could build one building where they could share wash bays? You could potentially figure out your storage capacity needs for transportation and public works ... what would the feasibility be of having two different structures as opposed to one main structure located where it would be practical?”

It was decided to have OVTC building committee members Richard Logan and Fred Radtke contact Rhinelander city administrator Patrick Reagan and mayor Kris Hanus about consolidation possibilities while another OVTC member, Oneida County supervisor Billy Fried, said he would bring the idea up at a Nov. 7 meeting of the Oneida County board’s administrative committee. 

Vote not on agenda

OVTC chairman Marv Anderson, after the space needs presentation from Allison was completed, then entertained a motion to proceed with the architectural and engineering portion of the project and after some discussion, was able to get a 4 to 4 vote.

During the discussion before the vote, Fried said he “had a problem with the motion.”

“I’m worried we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” he said. “You’ve got a $4 million project that we only have $2 million for. It looks like the land acquisition possibilities are.”

Fried said he was “confused” that the engineering for a new building would begin before land for the structure was purchased. 

“Otherwise, we’re spending money for something that might not come to fruition,” he said. 

Over the course of the discussion regarding the motion, Fried was ultimately convinced to vote for proceeding with the design and engineering of the building. 

However, there were four members who weren’t and with a tie 4 to 4 vote, the motion failed. 

“That’s what we’re afraid of when we’re a committee of eight,” Anderson said. “Now, we’re going to start over. Sometime.”

Schreier brought up something that was related to open meetings law as it pertained to the tie vote on the motion to proceed with project design and engineering, which was not on the meeting agenda.

“If I were just a member of the public sitting here, I would not understand why you were taking up this vote today,” he said. “I do not feel like there was anything on this agenda that said you would be talking about moving forward on it.”

Schreier mentioned how over the course of the discussion, several items were brought up, including grants and trust funds. 

“Again, as someone who would be coming in today and not really following, I’m very unclear on all this,” he said. “I don’t know what dollars your committing to architectural and engineering planning.”

The vote to proceed with the architectural and engineering portion of the project not on the agenda wasn’t lost on Schreier. 

He said sitting in the meeting and “divorcing myself from my responsibilities as an elected official,” if he was a member of the general public who would rely on meeting minutes once they were published, “I can’t even begin to understand how you guys come to a point where you guys actually support spending any money.”

“You can’t agree on what you want, what your needs actually are for the building, where it’s going to be,” he said. “Both unanswered questions. I just don’t get it. To be perfectly honest, I think you’re in violation of open (meetings) law by putting this before the body to vote for. There would be no way for the public to know that this would be something you would be voting on today to go ahead with architectural engineering and what that costs, regardless of grant funding.”

Moving forward

NTC director Barb Newman later told The Lakeland Times she didn’t anticipate a vote at this point to proceed with design and engineering but she was pleased with Allison’s report except for one item.

“The price of everything has gone up so there was a little bit of a sticker shock when it came to the final tally but again, it’s a good starting point for us,” she said.

Newman said she will work with the aging and disability resource center (ADRC) in each county and see what sort of funding each one will be able to contribute. 

“To come up with a final number ... we’re not going to be able to come up with $4 million,” she said of the ADRC funding possibilities. “That’s for darn sure.”

The space needs analysis was funded with a state grant as the design and engineering for the new building will be and now, Newman will be putting together information to submit to the DOT for grant money that will be used, if awarded for construction. 

That grant application is due in December. 

Newman said she’d spoken to representatives at the DOT who told her that’s when the application was needed so it could be reviewed in 2025 with possible construction in 2026.

While the land acquisition still needs to be accomplished and possibilities of working with Oneida County and the city of Rhinelander regarding facility consolidation are looked into, she said the process the OVTC has been working toward in getting a new home will move forward. 

“It’s not a big deal,” Newman said of the lack of a building site at this time. “I know the architect said he’d rather have a piece of land and they could build it accordingly but the building (size) is going to stay the same no matter what parcel we have.”

As for Schreier’s comment regarding a possible open meetings violation, Anderson told the Times he felt it was unnecessary but Schreier was entitled to express “how he feels.”

“The matter has been on multiple agendas,” he said. “We put things like this for discussion and possible action on meeting agendas.”

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].