Town tired of waiting for Waubeka Mill fence

At least one lane of a Town of Fredonia road that was supposed to open a month ago could reopen in days.

Charlie Sheridan, whose son owns the embattled Waubeka Mill on Mill Street, was ordered by the town to put a chain-link fence around the building in order to open one lane of the road.

Ozaukee County Sanitation and Zoning Specialist Barry Sullivan said his department and the county’s Planning and Parks Department met with the town, Sheridan and his son about the issue.

“The town gave him the option of either he gets the fencing up or the town will put up the fencing and they will charge him for it,” Sullivan said.

He said the town gave Sheridan a week to decide what to do. It was decided the town will do the work.

Sullivan said the town pulled a permit for the fence, and he issued it on May 19. It is good for six months.

Fencing around the building doesn’t meet setback requirements, but because the town issued an abatement order the Department of Natural Resources allowed it, Sullivan said.

Town Clerk Christophe Jenkins said United Rental is doing the job at a cost of $2,000 or $3,000 for six months.

Retired deputy town clerk Keri Eichner reminded the Town Board in May that it said in April that the road would be open around May 1. As of May 14, it was still closed.

Sheridan also has other work to do on the mill. In March, he was working on what he said was a $40,000 project to clear debris from the collapsed west side of the mill.

Sheridan is only allowed to spend 50% of the structure’s value in repairs, Sullivan said. The fair market value of the building was last assessed at $2,540, so he can only complete $1,270 in repairs. 

Anything more than that and Sheridan would need a building code variance, which the county has repeatedly denied, since the buildings are in a floodplain, have essentially no setback from either the road or river and are grossly out of code, Sullivan said.

“He said he’s going to be applying for the variance but I have yet to see anything on it,” Sullivan said last week.

A variance would require a public hearing by the Board of Adjustment, he said.

Sheridan put temporary support structures in the building that Sullivan said count toward the amount he can spend to fix it and require a permit. Sullivan said he sent Sheridan a permit application.

“It will be an after-the-fact permit,” he said, adding those may cost as much as 10 times the normal fees.

Sullivan said he’s only charging $375, about double the cost.

“He’s kind of protesting that a little bit,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said Sheridan also made the case that the structures are temporary and shouldn’t count against the 50% value clause. But, Sullivan said, the ordinance doesn’t recognize temporary or permanent repairs.

In March, Sheridan posted on Facebook a request for a “talented video person” to help him create a documentary titled “This Old Mill” in the style of the PBS TV show “This Old House” showcasing his efforts to fix the structure that was built in 1864.