AUTHORIZING THE USE OF BADGER ARMY AMMUNITION CARRYFORWARD FUNDS

The Badger Reuse Plan called for approximately 7,500 acres of land within the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant to be managed as a whole.  The plan also called for the creation of a Badger Oversite and Management Commission (BOMC) to include representatives from the Department of Natural Resources, the Ho-Chunk Nation, Sauk County, the Town of Merrimac, and the Town of Sumpter.  The Commission was to facilitate, promote, and monitor the implementation of the Badger Reuse Plan.  Funds placed within the former Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Budget were to accommodate for any operational or staff related expenses associated with the mission of this Commission. 

Overtime, the Commission stopped meeting.  The last agenda posted for a BOMC meeting was August 4, 2015.  The land was divided amongst four property owners and there has been no interest expressed by those property owners to continue the efforts of the BOMC.  The funds now located within the Land Resources and Environment Department budget are carried forward from year to year without designation towards a particular project or purpose.  The options for the funds are to continue to carry those funds forward without a particular project or purpose tied to their use, identify potential projects that may utilize the funds in a manner consistent with their original intent, or allow the funds to be absorbed into the general fund balance. 

The Land Resources and Environment Committee has identified several projects, which could utilize the funds consistent with their original intent.  In order to move forward with those projects, a resolution by the County Board authorizing their use for a different purpose is necessary.  Listed below are the proposed projects and their associated costs.