County to accept mill land but won’t pay town

The Ozaukee County Board last week voted to accept ownership of the dilapidated mill and Button Factory buildings in Waubeka, with an eye toward creating a riverside kayak launch, but they refused to reimburse the Town of Fredonia $20,000 for half the cost of purchasing the property.

The town bought the two buildings and one acre of land along the Milwaukee River for $40,000 last year from Charles Sheridan and his son and asked the county to pay half the cost.

Purchasing the property and turning it over to the county brings to a close a long-running controversy between Sheridan and the town on what to do with the property.

But the town’s thinking “included some level of participation from the county ... based on our faith and trust in our partner, Ozaukee County,” Town Chairman Chris Janek told the County Board last week.

“The Town Board expected the resolution (to transfer ownership) to be approved as presented with the 50% partnership, which had been in the mix for months,” he said.

“Withholding the $20,000 is one more hurdle for the town and puts a little disappointment in what will be a great collaborative partnership. We all look forward to a beautiful conclusion to what has been a long difficult journey,” he said.

The county Natural Resources Committee last month recommended accepting the property from the town but without the $20,000 contribution.

That’s because the county contributed $38,700 to the effort in the form of matching funds for a $142,800 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to assess whether the properties are a brownfield site.

“The town committed $40,000, the county committed $40,000,” County Administrator Jason Dzwinel told supervisors. “There will likely be future costs to the county to remediate the property.”

For instance, he said that if remediation costs exceed the $142,800 grant, the county will be liable for those costs.

County Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck told supervisors that while there was discussion on sharing the cost of the purchase, “there was no commitment.”

Dzwinel said county staff only promised to bring the matter to the County Board.

“Staff can’t commit to funding,” he said.

Supr. Marcia Nosko, whose district includes the towns of Fredonia and Saukville, argued that the county should honor the town’s request.

“It seems like a small contribution and money is tight for the town. I’d like to see that money restored,” she said.

Supr. Kevin Kennedy of the Town of Cedarburg objected to accepting ownership of the site altogether until the brownfield assessment is complete and the extent of pollution on the site is known.

“I cannot vote for this until we know the risks,” he said. “Shouldn’t we know what the remediation costs are before we accept the title?” he said.

Supervisors voted on two resolutions.

The first was a memorandum of understanding for the “transfer, remediation, and public park and open space use” of the two parcels. The second was to accept title of the parcels.

Nosko proposed an amendment to give $20,000 to the town. It failed on a 21-3 vote.

Kennedy proposed an amendment to postpone acceptance of the title until the brownfields assessment is complete.

It failed on a 12-12 vote.

The two unamended resolutions passed unanimously.

The dilapidated mill has asbestos, a cracked foundation, rotted support beams and a roof that is partially collapsed. Fuel also has leached into the ground below the road from a storage tank under the mill.

A portion of the mill collapsed in 2024, causing part of Mill Street to be barricaded for fear more could fall onto the roadway.

Both buildings stand in the river and are undevelopable.

The Button Factory is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The town had threatened to exercise eminent domain, which allows governments to take private property for public use as long as owners receive fair market value, if Sheridan and his son didn’t sell the property.

Sheridan, who lives in Illinois, bought the Button Factory in a 1990 auction from Ozaukee County and purchased the mill in 2019 for $1,000, later turning that building over to his son.

Struck said he envisions a “kayak loop”  between Waubedonia Park and its campground in Fredonia and the mill and Button Factory.

Struck has said the mill would likely be torn down but some remnant of the Button Factory would remain due to its historic status.

There isn’t room to do much more than develop a small parking lot there and add signage calling attention to the historic significance of the site, he said.

Development of the site as a park has not been approved.