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Town of Gibraltar Considering Municipal Water System

It all started with a fire.

In 2008, Dick Skare’s business, The Cookery in Fish Creek, burned. As he and his wife Carol rebuilt the restaurant, Skare got to thinking about protecting his investment against future fires.

“Through the whole process [of rebuilding] we dealt with water issues,” Skare said. “It occurred to me that we could use a firefighting system of some sort in the village.”

So Skare, a member of the town board, encouraged the board to look at the possibility of building a municipal water system, which would include setting up fire hydrants and storing enough water to provide two hours of high-volume, high-pressure flow in case of an emergency.

The board decided to look into the idea. A municipal water system feasibility evaluation for the Town of Gibraltar was finished in May and presented at the town’s monthly meeting on June 6.

The plan, which is available on the town’s website, produced by Cedar Corporation in Green Bay, outlines the options for building a municipal water system in Gibraltar by determining the necessary water supply, estimating construction costs and identifying potential funding sources.

Engineers found implementing a municipal water system would require building water supply wells, a water tower, a water treatment plant and a building to house well pumps. Water pipes connecting businesses and residents to the system would need to be buried.

“My initial reaction is that we haven’t had any problems with our well water, so until it’s dry I don’t see why they’d even be considering this,” said Craig Lent, owner of Edge of Park Rentals.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $9.5 to $10 million, but that figure could change depending on what areas of Gibraltar are included in future study.

The plan highlights four sections of Gibraltar that could become part of the system:

o Section 1 extends from the intersection of State Highway 42 and County Road F, including Gibraltar School and the YMCA, down Main Street to Sunset Park

o Section 2 runs north on State Highway 42 to Alexander’s restaurant

o Section 3 includes Spring Road down to Wandering Road, as well as Spring Court and Half Mile Bridge area

o Section 4 includes Cottage Row

The plan also highlighted a number of financing options, including carrying some cost on long-term debt to be paid by future user charges and applying for low-interest loans through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the United States Department of Agriculture and purchasing open-market bonds.

But Dennis Steigenberger, a consulting engineer for Cedar Corporation said the community has to look at these various methods of splitting up the costs and come up with what they believe is the fairest way to do it.

“There needs to be a lot more discussion on a fair way of levying a [cost] before any conclusions can be drawn on what it might cost each user,” Steigenberger said. “That’s a step in the process that hasn’t been completed yet.”

Construction would take about two years, with some freedom to work around the busy summer season. Skare said the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) has scheduled re-paving of some areas of Gibraltar in 2013, and if the town chooses to construct a municipal water system the projects could be scheduled so the DOT could repave after pipes are buried.

Steigenberger presented the feasibility study to the town board and a room almost full of community members. Residents present at the meeting voiced concerns and questions about water quality in municipal systems, need for the system, personal cost of connecting to the system and how the final decision will be made.

“A lot of the questions that were asked were pretty specific, like ‘what’s it going to cost me?’” Skare said. “None of that can be answered until we go through more studying.”

In order to decide whether or not to continue with studying the possibility of implementing a municipal water system, the board mailed surveys to residents living in areas that could potentially be included. The surveys will help gauge public opinion on the issue.

The board expects to decide whether or not to continue studying the possibility of a municipal water system when survey results come back in mid-July.