Waukesha school district's annexation petition will be discussed Wednesday
Possible school site would need access to water service
The Waukesha School District is protecting a 14-year-old investment in vacant land as a possible school building site by seeking annexation of the 127-acre property to the city, a district official said.
Annexation is the district's only route to municipal water and sewer services for the land immediately west of Merrill Hills Road now that the Waukesha Town Board has cut the property out of the city's future service area, Superintendent Todd Gray said.
The land is the district's primary site for construction of one or two new schools when needed, and the availability of municipal services is at the heart of the plan, according to Gray.
"A middle school or large elementary school would not function well without municipal water and sewer," he said.
In late January, the Town Board decided to include a small northern portion of the municipality in Waukesha's service area submitted as part of the city's request for Lake Michigan water.
When the Town Board reaffirmed its decision on Feb. 14, Gray called the board's action "baffling." Gray said the decision jeopardized the district's $1.4 million investment in the land.
The district's vacant property is west of Merrill Hills Road, and only the pavement's width separates it from the service area.
The school district's annexation petition will be discussed Wednesday at a meeting of the city plan commission. The commission's recommendation will be forwarded to the city council for final action.
One barrier to approval was removed when another property owner joined the district's petition. The vacant land is not contiguous to the city, so it could not be annexed without a partner to bridge the gap, according to Doug Koehler, a planner in the community development department.
Jeffrey and Connie Riegel are the partners. They are asking the city to annex their one-acre lot at the southeast corner of MacArthur Road and Merrill Hills Road. A west boundary of the city bumps up against the Riegel lot.
A corner of the school district property lies directly across Merrill Hills Road from the Riegels' residence.
The partners' joint annexation petition encompasses a total of 128 acres.
This likely will not be the only petition spurred by the Town Board's decision to remove most of the town from the city's future service area. Several other town property owners have requested information on the annexation process, Community Development Director Steve Crandell has said.
Waukesha's request to tap Lake Michigan as its water supply is being reviewed by the state Department of Natural Resources. Once that preliminary analysis is completed, boundaries of the service area will be set.
If the city's request is approved by Wisconsin and each of the other seven Great Lakes states, Waukesha would not be allowed to extend water service beyond the area without making a separate request for a second diversion.
The service area moved a step closer to its final form this week. Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak asked the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to revise its earlier map and include a smaller portion of the town in the service area. The city's sewer service area will be revised along with the water service area.
The regional planning commission's original map delineating the city's future water service area included nearly all of the Town of Waukesha.
In a letter to SEWRPC Executive Director Ken Yunker, Duchniak describes as "shortsighted" the Town Board's decision to keep much of the municipality out of the service area.
If a private well on property outside the area becomes contaminated, or a private septic system beyond the boundary fails, the property owner would not be permitted to connect to city water or sewer service, Duchniak says in the letter.
