By Shereen Siewert
The Wausau City Council this week declined to approve closing a downtown parking ramp, amid concerns over the process.
The McClellan Street parking ramp, which was built in 1979, provides hundreds of parking spaces between the Dudley Tower and CitySquare Office Center. But serious structural issues have alarmed staffers who recommended closing the top two floors of the ramp immediately.
Several council members said they were dismayed that the measure came before finance and the Common Council, but was not presented to the Capital Improvements and Street Maintenance Committee, which typically would review such requests and refer a recommendation. Dist. 4 Alder Lou Larson, who chairs the CISM Committee, put forward a motion to send the issue back to the body.
Dist. 7 Alder Lisa Rasmussen called the move a “power struggle” between committees, noting that the Finance Committee already approved a proposal to shutter the ramp rather than spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on upkeep for a structure that has long surpassed its useful life.
“If there was any chance of a different outcome, I’d say go ahead,” Rasmussen said.
But others, including Dist. 5’s Gary Gisselman, said there are processes to follow no matter what the issue. He suggested holding a special CISM meeting as quickly as possible.
Dist. 3 Alder Tom Kilian concurred, and said abandoning process is not good practice.
Doug Diny, of Dist. 5, said his concern was that city officials have not had formal conversations with the Dudley Tower’s management, whose occupants use the ramp.
“I guess…when we have other things that affect neighbors..we put notices out that we’re looking at this…and get input,” Diny said. “The person who is affected the most by this is the Dudley Tower, and we haven’t talked to them.”
Mayor Katie Rosenberg said she has had informal conversations with Dudley management, who appear to want the ramp rebuilt.
Rasmussen, along with Public Works Director Eric Lindman, urged the council to approve closing at least the top two floors immediately in light of serious safety concerns for drivers using the ramp. Lindman said the ramp has deteriorated so drastically that the city faces the risk of a tire going through the concrete. If that happened, or a portion of the ramp collapsed, it could result in injuries and significant liability for the city.
Larson said he understands the safety concern and is all for protecting the public, but “the fact of the matter is, we still have a protocol to go by.”
“If we don’t, it’s not in the public’s best interest,” Larson said. “If safety is a problem, close the thing off until we figure out what to do with it and go through the proper channels.”
Gisselman said staff is trusted to do the right thing in the interest of public safety.
“You have the confidence of the City Council to take care of the safety issues as you see fit,” he told Lindman. “The larger issue of the ramp, the presence of the ramp with regard to everything happening on that block is a CISM issue and that is what that committee does.”
In a memo, Lindman said keeping the entire ramp viable into 2025 would cost an estimated $335,000 plus any engineering analysis and inspection costs. Keeping the ramp viable but closing the top two levels would cost $156,000, while closing the ramp entirely and relocating parkers to the Jefferson Street Ramp and surface lots has no cost.
Gisselman, Diny, Kilian and Larson were joined by Alders Chad Henke and Sarah Watson in voting to send the resolution back to CISM. A special meeting is set for 5:15 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 407 Grant St., Wausau.
