Tough mill challenge

Ozaukee County and Town of Fredonia officials were less than encouraging to new Waubeka mill owner Charlie Sheridan when they took  a tour of the site last Friday and heard what Sheridan hopes to do with the property.

Sheridan recently bought the mill for $1,000 and explained that he wants to create an “artificial whitewater rapids” for canoes and kayaks at the mill, which sits on the south bank of the Milwaukee River next to the former button factory, which Sheridan also owns.

The mill building, W4132 Mill St., is one of the oldest structures in Waubeka and has been out of use since the mid-1990s.

Sheridan said he believes the site holds potential as a “small hotel” and restaurant, with a patio overlooking the river.

Sheridan said his first step, however, is to clean up the property and complete repairs. Part of the mill collapsed last year.

The work, he said, would include cleaning, removing grain dust, ventilating the building by opening existing doors and windows facing Mill Street and creating openings on the side that faces the Milwaukee River.

The building is largely dilapidated and has a number of issues.

Among them, the siding facing Mill Street contains asbestos, the foundation is severely cracked, the roof needs major repairs and some main support beams are rotted.

However, county officials said Sheridan can only clean up what fell down or is laying on the floor and that permits from the county and the town are needed to do more extensive repairs because much of the property is in the floodway of the Milwaukee River.

Sheridan would be allowed to remove old machinery inside the building.

Sheridan, who lives in Illinois, grew up in Milwaukee and said he fell in love with the Milwaukee River at Waubeka when as a student at Marquette University he drove across the bridge there and saw the buildings and the old dam on a winter’s day.

“It was just beautiful,” he said Friday.

A carpenter and developer, Sheridan eventually bought property in Waubeka, as well as the button factory building when it became available in the early 1990s.

Sheridan said he thinks the town could create a historic district out of the mill and the button factory that would aid in the sites’ redevelopment. 

Sheridan said the idea of creating an artificial whitewater rapids — using the old mill race that runs through the two buildings — was inspired by a “whitewater park” on the Maquoketa River at the town of Manchester in northeast Iowa, and those used in the Olympics. He said that if he is allowed to create an artificial rapids in Waubeka, it would be the only one of its kind in the region.

“It’s better to bring the water to the people than the people to the water, right?” Sheridan said.

Ozaukee County Land and Water Management Zoning Officer Barry Sullivan said Sheridan has a “high bar” to overcome before he can pursue his ideas.

First, the property needs to be surveyed to show the exact location of the floodplain and elevation of the building.

Because the property is in a floodplain, the building is subject to “the 50% rule of the floodplain development standard,” which means that work on the building cannot exceed 50% of the current market value of the building. The value, Sullivan said, is $6,630. 

To avoid that rule, the building would have to be raised to at least two feet above the floodplain and neighbors would have to give their approval since raising the building could affect their properties.

The state Department of Natural Resources also would be involved as well, officials said, especially if Sheridan wants to create a business that operates on the river.

“The best use of the property might be to remove the buildings” and perhaps turn it into a park with a canoe/kayak launch, Sullivan suggested.

In addition, Sheridan would have to get approvals from the town to rezone the property, change the use and get variances for setbacks and other issues, Sullivan said.

Town Chairman Lance Leider said Sheridan has to deal with the county and the state first. “The town will not do anything until the issues with the county and DNR are taken care of,” Leider said emphatically. 

Even so, Sheridan remains hopeful, saying he thinks he can negotiate with the county on some of the issues.

“It’s not negotiable,” Sullivan told him.

“Everything’s negotiable,” Sheridan replied.

Sheridan has posted a video of the site, shot from a drone, on YouTube titled “Waubeka Mill Kayaking,” which he hopes will highlight the site’s potential.