Column: Local government staying in its own lane; a case study

By Dan Kontos

You may have read that the grassroots group Friends of Emerson Park recently announced that they have reached a milestone in fundraising for their project to convert the old school property into a community park.

The goal they have set is $900,000, and they hit the $200,000 mark with donations and pledges thus far. Now plans are to move into a more energetic fundraising phase with an active effort to secure additional money.

The plans are fairly attractive, with an updated playground, sports facilities, and a community gathering area with a gazebo. It will be a nice addition to the neighborhood and the City of Stevens Point.

Emerson Park itself is located at Reserve and Main streets in the city, and development would have never come this far if local government had failed to stay within its political lane. Allow me to explain.

In 1981, Wisconsin reorganized the way it established public school districts, and the Emerson School and its associated property were transferred to the newly established Stevens Point Area Public School District. The school was operated until the decision was made to shutter it in 2001, and then razed in 2002. The property remained vacant, with only the remnants of some playground and sports areas left standing.

The Emerson property sat dormant, as a kind of unofficial neighborhood park, until the property was sold back to the city in 2018. The price was only that of the original expenses the school district had incurred to demolish the building.

The Common Council then chose to allow the development of this property into another municipal park, rather than sell it off for housing development.

Now there were good arguments on both sides of the debate on what the future of the land should be. In the end, the city chose to make it a community asset.

What was truly interesting was not what the city chose to do, but what the district had chosen to do before that.

You see, the property was in a prime location in the city. Not just prime for a park, but prime for housing development. The school district was sitting on a large potential cash jackpot that would have given them a one-time infusion of cash to spend on all sorts of projects and needs. In addition, private ownership and development would have put that property back on the tax rolls and increased the city’s levy cap limit.

It would seem that the school district would certainly make out financially by selling the property to private investors. Local government is always looking for ways to increase their revenues, and this certainly was an option.

However, the district took a different approach, one which units of government at all levels routinely fail to do. They stayed within their own lane.

The discussions went something like this: The district was in the education business, not the real estate business. They had no moral right to impose their idea as to what the landscape of the City of Stevens Point should look like. That was the job of the elected representatives of the city to do, with the consent of the governed who hired them. Since the property was unneeded by the district and served no real current purpose, the School Board should divest itself from the asset.

Again, the utilitarian arguments to sell the property were compelling. In the end, the School Board took the moral high ground and stayed in their lane. Not an easy or necessarily popular decision to be sure, but one that elected officials should certainly take to heart.

Lesson: Just because you can do a thing, doesn’t mean that you should.

All too often we see government, even at the local level, frankly, stick their noses where it doesn’t belong. They stray far and wide from real issues that their unit of government should be attending to, just to waste time and resources on frivolous, unproductive, and feel-good exercises.

Just as one example, when resolutions are drafted which actually do nothing, developed by committees that actually do nothing, why even have them? To simply virtue signal about a topic that local government cannot possibly impact just to make themselves feel good and morally superior is a complete waste of time. If you have time to do nothing, then the taxpayers should divest themselves from the cost of having that much government around.

Governmental leaders, newly elected as well as old hands, please, stay in your lane and do your jobs. We will all be better off for it.

As for me, I applaud the Friends of Emerson Park. It may not have been what I would have done, but as I fight the concept of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, I can appreciate their efforts and support their ultimate destination.

If you wish to support the Emerson Park development, check out the ways to donate here.

So, with that, let’s meet in the opinion section to talk about all of it, boldly, unafraid, and with a healthy respect for each other. Until then, God bless.

Dan Kontos is a paid columnist for the Metro Wire. He chooses his own topics and his opinions do not necessarily represent the staff of the Metro Wire. He lives with his family in Whiting. 

We are seeking a columnist with a liberal viewpoint to write about local topics. Anyone with interest should email [email protected].