County to increase winter storage fees at fairgrounds

It will cost more for private parties to store their campers and boats at the Taylor County Fairgrounds buildings.

Members of the county’s buildings and grounds committee on August 10 approved increasing the fees for inside storage in the dairy barn by $4 per foot for each category and by $50 for the winter for outside covered storage.

Previously the county charged $8 per foot for small boats and pop-up campers and $9 per foot for taller items like recreational vehicles.

Buildings and grounds director Joe Svejda estimated the cost for a boat and trailer measuring 20 feet total in length will increase from $160 storage for the winter to $240 storage for the winter. Storage is for a 6-month period from September through April with the people storing items given a specific day to drop off or pick up items.

The county currently charges a flat fee of $100 for storing the items in the show buildings which are under roofs, but which are not fully enclosed. Under the changes made last week, that fee will go up to $150.

According to county clerk Andria Farrand, the county has a waiting list of people who are interested in winter storage at the fairgrounds. The county had previously adjusted the rates in 2019 when they went up by $1. This summer the county spent more than $80,000 on replacing the dairy barn roof and a number of access doors.

Svejda estimated that based on the same number and type of items stored as last year, the county would generate about $17,000 more this coming season with the increases.

Committee member Lori Floyd, who rents private storage units, said the average storage unit rental rate for this area is about $75 per month. “Everybody is going to $75 per month in the private sector,” she said.

She raised concern that the county should be earmarking the money generated from the rentals to help cover maintenance and upgrade costs for the buildings so that when the time came to replace things like roofs or doors, the county would not need to rely on grant funds.

Farrand said that she did not foresee any issues with having people willing to pay the new rates. She said that within a short time of sending out the letters to people on their mailing list who have expressed interest in renting the space, they will have people in and paying, especially if they have RVs or tall items which are more expensive to store privately with the market rates over $100 per month.

“I don’t think anyone will be scared off,” Floyd said of the increase.

In other business, committee members:

  Gave their approval to using health department grant funds for the placement of public health vending machines in the courthouse and human services department. The vending machines would dispense for free things like first aid supplies and gun locks to any member of the public that wanted them. The material to stock the machines would also be purchased using grant funds.

  Approved the parks portion of the county’s outdoor recreation plan. This is something that needs to be reviewed regularly in order to apply for some grants with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The plan will also be reviewed by the county forestry and recreation department and ultimately sent to the full county board for adoption.

  Approved using $77,750 in Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) money in order to rebuild and expand the parking lot at the human services building. The county received the one-time grant funds and will be using them to address drainage and safety concerns at the parking lot located on College St. in Medford. The project will include adding a lift to the parking lot which will allow for the elimination of some steps making entrance and exit easier and will also make snow removal easier for county workers. The project will also expand the parking lot by five feet to improve traffic flow. The current parking lot was put in over three phases with the oldest portion being 40 years old. The county received a total of $98,900 in funding and the remainder from the parking lot will be used to help replace buildings and grounds equipment used to mow and remove snow.

  Directed Svejda to look into getting microphones or other equipment to improve the acoustics for meetings in the county board room. Floyd, who wears a hearing aid, noted that she is not the only one on the board with hearing difficulties and that she at times finds it difficult to understand what other county board members are saying because of the volume of their voice or not speaking clearly. “We have to do something,” she said, asking for the accommodation to be made for board members and the public who are not able to hear as well as others. “I can’t imagine it is just me,” she said.

  Tabled action on a new lease agreement with the Indianhead Community Action Agency which has the contract to operate the Head Start program in Medford. The program is housed at the Taylor County Education Center and while Indianhead operated it in the past, a different agency had gotten the contract in recent years, with it back to Indianhead now. The group requested the county add another 750 square feet of fenced outdoor space for children to play. Svedja supported the change, noting it would be less area for the county to mow and maintain. The agreement was tabled in order to collect additional information for the committee.

  Discussed the electronic sign at the Taylor County Fairgrounds. The controller for the current sign no longer works and the county is unable to currently change or add messages to it. The sign was built in 20062007 at a cost of $18,670. There was also a question of the impact the planned state project to rebuild the Hwy 64 and Hwy 13 intersection will have on the sign’s placement. Finance director Larry Brandl questioned if the sign was still needed given the prevalence of social media.