Annexation draws support, opposition

By Steve Sharp of the Daily Times staff
Monday, August 11, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

JOHNSON CREEK - The Jefferson County Farm Bureau is among those opposed to a proposed annexation of 23 acres of land just north of Interstate 94 that might then be used to locate a new Rainbow Hospice Care facility. The Jefferson-based hospice and its backers say, however, that the property is well-suited to their needs and would be a sensible land use in the ever-expanding village of Johnson Creek. The village, for its part, is hopeful for a resolution that will make the annexation agreeable to all.

In November of 2007, the Rainbow Hospice Care Capital Campaign Super Committee held its first public session. The committee was formed to get the message to the public that RHC seeks contributions to create a one-of-a-kind, $4.5 million, in-patient facility in Johnson Creek. Its members are of the strong belief that Jefferson County needs a modern hospice facility.

According to hospice representatives, the facility that is envisioned would be located, in part, on land donated by Lyle Wuestenberg and his partners in WWGC LLC, near Wuestenberg's J & L Tire facility in Johnson Creek.

Designed in a residential style, the free-standing, 12,000-square-foot home would be creatively designed, with large rooms to accommodate patient and family needs with space for mementos, pictures and reminders of home. Expansive windows would look out onto a serene, wooded setting with views of trees, gardens and natural life.

“Families will love the large gathering room with a warm fireplace, attractive dining room, chapel, resource room and comfortable patient suites, which allow them to visit often and stay longer,” a Rainbow brochure states.

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The facility would be eight beds in capacity, with future expansion space and would be built to hospital codes to serve patients requiring sophisticated interventions. Patients would receive personalized care from highly qualified, caring staff and volunteers.

Randy Knox, campaign chairman, said the proposed hospice facility, “could be a very special part of the history of this area.” He noted the Watertown and Fort Atkinson hospital service areas are vast and the facilities themselves are relatively far apart geographically, “But this will bring them together to serve a common goal,” he said. “This will be a stretch to reach that common goal.”

Rainbow Hospice Care is a not-for-profit organization that has cared for terminally ill patients throughout Jefferson County and neighboring communities since 1990. RHC served nearly 300 patients and their families in 2006.

The Jefferson County Farm Bureau issued its letter in protest to Rainbow's proposed location in Johnson Creek recently to George Hall of the Wisconsin Department of Administration. Hall is in charge of determining if the annexation can take place from a state standpoint. The village is waiting for word from Hall in the coming days and the village board might then be asked to decide whether or not to annex the land.

In its letter to Hall, which will also be presented to the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday evening at that panel's regular session for August, the farm bureau states the pending annexation runs counter to the best interests of the integrity of the county's land use planning.

“This annexation is inconsistent with how the village of Johnson Creek had planned their (sic) expansion,” the letter states. “Johnson Creek has at least 250 acres of improved, developable land vacant and available ... Building on an existing site next to a hotel and other amenities would be far more sustainable and convenient for families.”

Donald Reinders, who lives in Aztalan, is a grave-digger and wood-crafter who used to work in the concrete business. He owns a 25-acre parcel of land situated between the village and the proposed hospice land that would be automatically annexed if the hospice care property were to be brought into the village. Reinders told the Daily Times he wants to retain his land to pay for his retirement. He estimated that his property is worth about $500,000. He has owned 10 of the acres since 1981.

“It was farmland then and it's farmland now,” Reinders said. “I wanted it as an investment at the time. It was on a dead-end road at the time and no one wanted it. I thought it would be a quiet investment and now I have a little hobby shop here and I just want to be left alone.”

Tom and Renee Cramer own approximately 7 acres that are also in question and they, with Reinders, oppose their land being brought into the village under the proposed conditions. The remainder is owned by Lyle Wuestenberg and his investment colleagues at WWGC LLC.

“The plan was that they made us this offer to purchase our land and Tom and I refused, and now they want to annex it,” Reinders said. “I believe the idea is that once it's annexed, they can condemn it and build a road through and then special assess us for it.”

Reinders said he can't afford any special assessments.

“I'm astounded by this - that someone comes to me and says, “Take this or leave it.' Now it looks like I have to take whatever they dish out,” he said. “I'm just a small peanut with a few acres in the way and they just decided, ‘Well, the hell with him.' I intended to sell this land someday and use it for retirement and they are going to take it away on me.”

Johnson Creek Administrator Paul Moderacki said the village board has not dealt with the matter yet, but board members have been notified that a petition for annexation is being reviewed by the state. The state, via Hall, is examining the technical aspects of the annexation to determine if it's feasible for the village to efficiently extend municipal services to the proposed properties.

Moderacki declined to offer his own opinion on the matter. “I've tried to be politically neutral on this,” he said. “The WWGC LLC land is not contiguous to the village, but the parcel is larger than the two adjoining parcels immediately to the south. The two adjoining parcels are next to the village, and according to state statutes this could mean these could be brought in, because of their sizes. You have to be larger than anything you are bringing in with you.”

Moderacki said if there are people living on these parcels then the persons with the land proposed for annexation must have a majority that wishes to be annexed in order for such a modification to take place.

“There are no houses on these parcels, so this is a moot point,” Moderacki said.

Chuck Frandson, president of Rainbow Hospice Foundation, Ltd., said, “From the beginning, five years ago, when the hospice board determined an inpatient facility would be a good addition to services we already provided, we looked for a location that has all the facets we need - like serenity, greenspace and the ability to expand at a later time. We originally thought that might be a rural location and we looked at a site near Bicentennial Park (just south of Johnson Creek on state Highway 26) and we couldn't do that without municipal services. Johnson Creek is the center of our service area and that is the best central location. As we pursued possibilities in Johnson Creek, there are a lot of residential subdivision land spaces available, but we are looking at four acres and we'd have to buy an entire block and that is totally unacceptable financially. Plus we don't belong plopped in a residential area, anyway.”

Frandson said surrounding agricultural lands are too high-priced, as well.

“So we wind up considering land in an industrial park. But what happens to our facility if, next door, they put in a big warehouse with trucks coming and going 24 hours a day?” He said.

Frandson said the location that is being considered on the northeast side of Johnson Creek is very appropriate for Rainbow Hospice Care, but he noted the annexation process is something Rainbow prefers not to address at this time.

“The whole annexation process is between the landowners and the village, and we take the position that we don't want to get into the middle of it,” he said. “We haven't accepted any land and we can't, unless it has access to municipal services.”

When asked if he is optimistic that Rainbow will be able to locate at the proposed site in Johnson Creek, Frandson said, “We're hopeful. We are just waiting on the powers that be ... Our best hope is to break ground in the spring of 2009.”

Wuestenberg, one of the representatives of WWGC LLC, was contacted this morning for comment, but declined.

Moderacki said the village is aware that the concerns of the Cramers and Reinders about being brought in include that they could lose the usefulness of their properties, and that Reinders thinks he could be assessed for the cost of improvements. He said the village has told them they would not be assessed until they improve their land. Reinders said he and the Cramers simply want to keep their land in an agricultural state for the time being.

“The village has plans to take great pains to minimize the impact on both properties if a road were to be constructed,” Moderacki said.

As of Friday afternoon, the state's Department of Administration had yet to rule on whether it approved of the annexation. As a result, it appears unlikely the Johnson Creek Village Board will see a resolution on the matter tonight.

Moderacki said he hopes aspects of the matter can be modified so the project is acceptable to everyone concerned.

“We hope for a resolution with the Cramers and Reinders, that some common ground can be found, so the annexation can take place and they can remove their objections,” he said.

The farm bureau's letter to the state and the county board goes on to note that precedent in matters such as this is extremely important.

“One ill-conceived annexation can set the precedent for other municipalities to also disregard their plans, not infill and sprawl, merely because an opportunity arrives,” the letter states. “Farmland should be valued for itself, not just as a way of holding land for future development.”