By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
A planned parking lot upgrade at Monk Gardens is on pause to allow leaders at the embattled organization an opportunity to meet with members of the Monk family.
Dist. 7 Alder Lisa Rasmussen, who is president of the Wausau City Council and represents the area in which Monk Gardens is located, said a meeting is set for Tuesday between the family and garden leaders. J.H. Findoff & Son, Inc., is the contractor for the project. Rasmussen contacted Wausau Zoning Administrator Bill Hebert to ask questions about permits for the project when she learned about the pause.
Heidi Monk-Walsh confirmed the meeting to members of the Facebook group dedicated to preserving the legacy of Robert Monk III, who donated the original parcel of land that formed the gardens.
Monk Gardens leadership has been under fire since April, when the organization announced it would become Wausau Botanic Gardens. Greater Wausau Chamber President and CEO Dave Eckmann, along with Visit Wausau Executive Director Tim White, were quoted in an initial release applauding the decision, but public reaction was swift and severe. Thousands of people signed a petition protesting the name change, a decision that was since rescinded. Now, controversy continues over the Gardens’ plan to begin charging admission and undergo major upgrades including the parking lot project.
Several Monk family members have penned letters to the editor saying they are angry about changes that they say dishonors Monk’s vision for the land. Many members of the Facebook group, which include several former key volunteers and people intricately involved in the early stages of the Gardens’ creation, have also criticized the plans.
Rasmussen said she has personally received dozens of contacts about the issue and wrote a letter last month to the board asking them to slow down and listen to the community. What she received in return was less than satisfying.
“Hopefully the leadership at the garden will understand that the community and the donors love the garden in part for its simplicity and tranquility,” Rasmussen said. “Many of the plans they have revealed are not in parity with what Mr. Monk would have wanted there.”
Since her earlier communication with the board, however, Rasmussen said she thinks the group working to salvage Mr. Monk’s legacy has gained ground.
“The meeting…is hopefully evidence of that and not just them going through the motions to quiet the community,” Rasmussen said. “Seems the community’s tenacity is having an effect.”
The controversy has had some financial consequences. Last month, Weston opted against giving the Gardens $10,000 in tourism funding to support a annual festival, while a request for funding from Rib Mountain is being reconsidered.
In an email to Rib Mountain trustees that centered on the issue, Monk Gardens Executive Director Darcie Howard said the “Monk children and gardens have always had a strained relationship” and said the ongoing “hostility” has been an issue for the organization since Monk’s death. She referred to the community effort as a “hate” campaign.
“Our mistake was underestimating their ability to rally people against us,” the letter reads.
Heidi Monk-Walsh, in a Facebook post, dismissed Howard’s remarks as “fabricated nonsense.”
“If the relationship between the Garden and the Monks has always been strained, we haven’t been the cause,” she wrote.
