By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU, Wis. — City leaders on Tuesday took no action on a proposal to purchase the burned out and abandoned Ponderosa Motel from Marathon County, which took ownership of the property in December.
The proposal floated Tuesday to members of the economic development committee met with strong resistance from City Council President Lisa Rasmussen and Committee Chair Tom Neal, both of whom questioned why the city should be involved in such a purchase. The proposal called for spending about $73,000 to buy the motel, at 2101 Grand Ave., Wausau.
Marathon County took ownership of the property in an effort to recover unpaid property taxes dating back to 2013.
But Rasmussen openly questioned why the county should recoup their tax dollars, while leaving the city on the hook and said she sees “no value” in purchasing the property.
“Let the private sector handle it,” Rasmussen said. “It’s an unnecessary cost.”
Pat Peckham, who represents Dist. 1, urged the city to buy the property to rid the city of what has become an eyesore that has garnered repeated complaints from neighborhood residents.
“They want the building gone,” he said. “It’s ugly.”
Peckham said by stepping up, the city would be doing the community a service.
Officials said the Aug. 17, 2015 fire was caused by negligent use of burning materials, possibly a cigarette.
Unpaid property taxes at the site totaled more than $63,000 when the property changed hands. In addition, the county spent about $9,400 on environmental site assessments and other costs associated with the building, according to city documents. The total value of the property in 1998 was $217,900, according to the Marathon County Land Records system; the value dropped to $150,000 in 2016.
The motel’s previous owner, Rajshree Inc., of Weston, was issued repeated assessments for noxious weeds, snow removal and delinquent utilities in recent years, county records show.
Though the committee took no action on the proposal to buy the property, they approved a motion by Peckahm to ask the Community Development Authority to assess the possibility of becoming the owner and razing the old building.
