“Alleluia, we finally have a dog park!”
This exclamation of relief came from Mayor Deb Brown during last Tuesday’s Eagle River City Council meeting. After talks have gone on for nearly a decade about where to place a dog park in the city, the council has approved a location in partnership with the Veterans Resource Center (VRC). It will be located at the center’s newly purchased parcel at 1100 N. Railroad St. where they plan to put a veteran’s memorial on the grounds.
Denny Geiseman, head of VRC, said he has “so many things” he wants to do at the property to help boost the community, tourism and of course, elevate veterans. Geiseman is himself a veteran and will be inducted into the Heroes Hall of Fame on Veterans Day.
Alderman Vic Washelesky prepared some plans to share with the council, showing a rough layout for the property that includes the veterans’ memorial on the north end, and an approximately 1-acre dog park on the south end, eventually with a shelter. There is also space allotted for a parking lot, as well as community-minded additions like an ice sculpture area and winter skating park to help beautify the area for enjoyment.
Washelesky said that eventually there should be a group formed to carry out fundraising for bigger projects, but initial goals are to get a fence up and a water line in place for the dogs. Geiseman said the VRC is happy to help with the project in any way they can.
Initial plans included a 20-year lease between the VRC and the city, but Alderwoman Kim Schaffer had concerns about investing a lot of city money into a project on land they do not own.
Geiseman expressed his interest in working with the city to extend that lease to whatever they were comfortable with.
“I don’t care if you have a lifetime lease on there, a hundred-year lease; makes no difference to us. We are never gonna sell that land. It’s there for veterans, that’s why we bought it,” Geiseman said. He had said at previous meetings that he thought this partnership was a great way to enhance the property and make it accessible for city residents, the rest of the community, and also veterans that live and visit here.
As part of the motion, the council will negotiate a lease agreement with VRC to extend beyond the 20 years.
The meeting took an unexpected turn when local developer Glenn Schiffman, owner of CornerStone Custom Builders, approached the council to propose a property trade with the VRC.
Schiffman — who previously had an offer on the Railroad Street parcel — asked the city to table any decisions regarding the site so he could negotiate a swap. He proposed trading a property he owns near the fairgrounds at the corner of Forrest Street and Highway 70 so he could instead acquire the Railroad Street land to build apartment complexes.
“I have the privilege of being in the top two or three taxpayers in the city of Eagle River, so I have great interest,” Schiffman told the council, asking city leaders to hold off on formal actions.
Brown clarified that the city had no say to force or facilitate a real estate deal between private parties.
“We can’t control what he does with his property,” Brown told Schiffman. “He owns the property and he chooses to do what he chooses to do with the property. So the city can’t step in.”
Geiseman firmly shut down any possibility of a trade or sale.
“We purchased that for a reason. I thank you for your gesture, but we are not interested,” Geiseman said. “We wanted that piece of land to build our memorial and a veteran park so as people come in — on snowmobiles, UTVs — they see that and they can stop and reflect. We are not gonna trade, we are not gonna sell, we’re not gonna do anything. It’s that simple.”
Geiseman, on behalf of the VRC, also has asked the city’s planning commission to rezone the property that is currently Highway Commercial to Parks/Recreation. The commission felt the current zoning was a fit for what Geiseman aims to do with the property and recommended to the council a denial of the request.
“Because of what they told us they wanted to do with that area with education for the public and the community, to promote the veterans, we thought that was a good fit, so then it didn’t have to be rezoned,” Schaffer explained. She also sits on the planning commission.
Geiseman spoke about why it was important to him that it be considered a park, saying, “We wanted to build that as a veterans’ memorial park because it will enhance our vets, so they can reflect, have their families there. We want to build it as a park, we want to help our community on top of that, and bring in tourism.”
Geiseman has goals of incorporating many area organizations into the usage of the land, including colleges like Nicolet and Houghton, as well as the Northland Pines School District.
Washelesky said the planning commission should amend the ordinance to define the term “educational” before bringing it back to the council for a final decision. The motion was seconded by Alderman Dan Grosskopf and passed by the council.
During the Oct. 13 meeting, the city received updates on the municipal golf course which again broke the $1 million mark for seasonal revenue. Grounds crews are winterizing the course now before the snow flies.
A few agenda items were tabled to give the council more time to gather information.
Great Headwaters Trails Foundation (GHTF) gave an update on the pedestrian crossing project on Highway 45, and made a request to include some of the needed items to be included in the city’s capital improvement bidding for 2027. Bids came in much higher than expected so the group is seeking ways to trim down costs.
GHTF would reimburse the city for all expenses, but it’s more cost effective to roll all the items into one project rather than pay separately for them. The council tabled the discussion to give public works and council members more time to look at the scope of the project, DOT regulations, and talk to the city attorney.
GHTF also updated on the Vibrant Spaces $50,000 grant money that was awarded toward the project and must be spent by the end of 2026, saying they are purchasing all needed components to use up those funds before they expire. Items will be put into storage until the project is underway.
Eagle River Pickleball Association has requested a lease agreement be put in place to ensure continued use of the facility pending a resurfacing investment in the courts. Jane Jones, president of the association, said the expected cost is $30,000 to $40,000 for the project and they’d like some assurance they can continue using the courts. She noted they are still looking for land to purchase and build a 10-court pickleplex.
The subject was tabled to give time for the city attorney to draw up a simple written agreement.
The city received garbage service bids from three area companies, Republic Services, Lakeland and Howard, with Republic coming in the cheapest. The council set a special meeting to negotiate terms of contract with Republic, but noted they can still change companies until that agreement is inked.
The council also okayed up to $30,000 for MSA Engineering to perform a topographic survey on McKinley Road to determine the scope and scale of the project. Chief Tyler Salvinski shared that the Wisconsin DNR issued 30 nuisance deer tags which are available at the Eagle River Police Department.
Lastly, the council set a budget workshop meeting to take place Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 5:15 p.m. at city hall.
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