Register of Deeds office temporarily relocates

By Brandi Makuski

STEVENS POINT — The Portage County Register of Deeds office remains open to the public while undergoing minor renovations, now operating from a temporary location in the basement of the courthouse.

Register of Deeds Cindy Wisinski said on June 9 that the move is expected to last about three weeks as crews complete painting, carpeting, and HVAC cleaning in the department’s regular office. The temporary location is on the east side of the building, in the former space once occupied by the Stevens Point Police Department.

“We never closed down. [We’re] still [servicing] everybody the whole time,” Wisinski said. “We did it in shifts so that the public never—we never skipped a beat.”

Wisinski said the remodel won’t change the office’s footprint. One possible addition is a locked storage room for supplies and confidential documents.

“Our carpet was so bad we were tripping over it,” she said, estimating the existing flooring dated back to around 1997. “It actually was pretty bad… you could tell.”

While the HVAC system isn’t being replaced, she said crews are taking advantage of the cleared space to clean and inspect components. “We’ve always had an issue in our office with the heat and cooling,” she said.

The only service temporarily unavailable is genealogy research, due to limited space in the temporary office. That service will resume once the office moves back.

As for the larger courthouse remodeling plans, Wisinski said no decisions have been made regarding her department’s future in that process.

“My guess is that we’re going to be done,” she said. “That could be five years or so… because the city still has to make up their mind on what they’re doing.”

Requests for cost details were not immediately returned.