Council considers YMCA expansion plans

The Sheboygan Falls Common Council reviewed preliminary expansion plans for the Sheboygan Falls YMCA, during a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday, May 4, at the City Hall Municipal Building.

Four representatives from the Sheboygan County YMCA and Joe Van Ess of Abacus Architects attended the meeting to discuss the expansion plans.

Mike Gustafson, Sheboygan Falls YMCA director, said increasing demand for daycare needs has prompted YMCA officials to consider adding space at the existed Sheboygan Falls YMCA facility.

“Right now part of our day care is housed in the old Nevers house off of Buffalo Street,” he said. “The building is getting older, and our daycare enrollment has been rising.

“There are also some things we would like to do to make the building more accessible for pickups and drop-offs. Safety is a concern.”

Gustafson added that the inclusion of a 4-year-old kindergarten program in the Sheboygan Falls School District has led to the need for more space.

“The school district want us to help with their 4-K program,” he said. “That means adding another classroom.

“We would also like to upgrade our physical-fitness area, but the day care is the focal point right now.”

The preliminary plans call for the main entrance to the YMCA building to be significantly altered.

“There are several problems that need to be addressed,” Van Ess said. “First of all, because the entrance has steps, it is not handicapped accessible. There really is no designated drop-off area, and the grade in the parking lot drops off significantly.”

Van Ess indicated the plan would make the YMCA more visible and accessible to the public.

“One of the plan options includes a new entrance that is more visible from Buffalo Street, because now the building is pretty hidden in the corner of the parking lot,” he said. “We would like to add a handicapped parking stall and skinny-up the parking stalls to allow for smaller buses to come in and make drop offs in front of the building.”

The second option calls for Buffalo Street to be widened to add an extra entry lane coming into the parking lot to cut down on congestion.

“By widening Buffalo Street, we would need to shift the sidewalk to the west,” Van Ess said. “We would also do a second entrance for the parking lot, which would require a large portion of the parking lot to be redone, repaved and relined.”

Alderwoman Anne Krauter said congestion is an issue in the morning and afternoon, when parents drop off kids for day care.

“Anything that can be done to improve congestion would be welcome,” she said. “I drive through there everyday to drop off my son and it is very difficult.”

Steve Woods of the Sheboygan County YMCA board of directors noted that the benefits of the expansion plan are added safety, upgraded aesthetics and improved parking.

Mayor Randy Meyer said the plan would need to be reviewed by the city’s Board of Appeal.

“The plan does not currently comply with out setback ordinance,” he said. “The city’s Board of Appeals would need to approve the setback for the sidewalk move in order for the plan to move forward.”

Woods pointed out that YMCA officials are developing ideas for the plan, based on feedback from its feasibility study.

“This is one step in the feasibility study,” he said. “We are just feeling our way through this. We thought we would take it to the council to see if we would hit any kind nerve with this, before we start moving farther forward.”

Meyer said the plan would go to the Board of Appeals, before coming back to the Common Council for approval.

David Schmitz of Alliant Energy spoke to the council about the city’s electricity infrastructure, as provided through Sheboygan Falls Utilities.

“Sheboygan Falls is operating at an excellent loss rate of 3.4-percent system watts, which is a worldclass number,” he said. “The normal rate for a municipality is 4 to 6 percent. Having a number that low is very rare and a big tribute to the plan you have in place and the execution of the plan by Steve Lawrenz [Sheboygan Falls Utilities director] and the staff of Sheboygan Falls Utilities.”

Schmitz reported that the city’s fuse coordinator has become obsolete, necessitating an upgrade, while one of the city’s transformers is 19 years old.

“Those are two things the city might want to look into replacing in the near future,” he said. “A fuse coordinator study could be done for $6,500 and I can work on getting an estimate on a new transformer.

Schmitz also informed the council that the city’s last electrical system study was completed in 2001. “That 2001 system study has run its course,” he said. “All off the goals listed in that study have been accomplished. Now it is time to work on a new one. We can do that for $29,500.”

Schmitz also asked the board to consider renewing its power-supply agreement with Alliant Energy, before the current contract expires in 2014.

During the regular Common Council meeting, Meyer honored former Sheboygan Falls News Editor Sandra Kimball, who passed away April 29.

“Sandy did a lot of good things for Sheboygan Falls,” Meyer said. “She was a good reporter and someone who wrote many outstanding articles about the city, including service organizations like the Jaycees.”

City Clerk-Treasurer Joel Tauschek said the city recently received a letter from Cory and Ann Meyer, who reported sewer problems at their home on Washington Street.

Tauschek noted that the city’s Department of Public Works has resolved the issue.

Meyer mentioned that a local Boys Scout Troop recently planted 60 pine trees in the city’s conservancy zone.

He also announced that the annual Memorial Day Parade will take place Monday, May 31, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The parade will begin at Pine and Giddings streets and continue down Pine Street to left on Broadway Street and right on Maple Street to the Municipal Building.

A program, hosted by the Sheboygan Falls American Legion Post, will follow at the Municipal Building at 10 a.m.

In other business, the council approved the purchase of a Kubota U55 tight tail swing compact excavator from Service Motor Co. for $54,750.

The council also approved an operator-license application for Sagar Shrestha. The next Sheboygan Falls Common Council meeting will take place Tuesday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers at the City Hall Municipal Building.