Town land division for new school hits a snag

The Town of Saukville Plan Commission rejected the division and rezoning of the proposed site of the new Saukville Elementary School  on Tuesday.

A last-minute change to the borders of the property at 2803 Orchard La. meant the certified survey map was incomplete for consideration by the commission.

Real estate agent Matt Sheahan apologized and said a new application for the land division that would create a 10-acre lot for the school surrounded by a 90-acre conservation area will be submitted soon.

The smaller parcel is targeted as the site of the new elementary school approved by voters last week as part of a $59.4 million referendum.

A potential issue for the site is traffic access.

Orchard Lane, which is a gravel road running between Hillcrest Road and Bucktrout Street, may not even be a town road, Kimmes said.

He said he remembers the town began a process to cede the road easement to the adjoining property owners several years ago but doesn’t know if the board followed through on it.

The proposed school lot would pull off of Bucktrout Street, a road that serves a residential subdivision on the village’s west end.

The Port Washington-Saukville School District’s purchase of the land is contingent on the results of a traffic and soil condition study, district officials have said.

The school district is “under contract” for the land, Sheahan said, but he noted the sale is not “a done deal.”

District officials have hailed the site as an ideal location for the new school.

“We see a lot of opportunities for this to be a neighborhood school that children can walk to safely,” Supt. Michael McMahon said in February. “The other 90 acres would be untouched land that our students can look out at.

“The 10 acres could be perfect for a school.”

The town land division would precipitate annexation of the parcel by the Village of Saukville, Kimmes said.

He told neighboring residents concerned about the potential school’s parking lot and design that those concerns will be up to the village to address.

“Towns are subservient,” he said. “This is where villages and cities can do what they want and we can’t fight them, no matter what.”

The 10 acres are part of a largely undeveloped 100-acre parcel owned by the Elda V. Bunk Living Trust that was listed for sale late last year for $1.55 million.

According to real estate listings, the property includes a home and pole barn as well as more than 40 acres of wooded wetlands.

The new Saukville Elementary School will replace the current building on Mill Street, which was built in 1955 and last underwent a major remodeling in 1989. The School District has ruled out remodeling or rebuilding Saukville Elementary School at its current Mill Street site because the property is in a floodplain and flanked by wetlands

The district plans to spend $45.8 million on the new school and the remaining $13.6 million in referendum funds on maintenance projects at its four other buildings.