College seeks community input on well issue

Town of Pelican residents, and other interested parties, will have at least two opportunities to express their thoughts on the possible addition of a municipal well and pumphouse to Nicolet College’s Lake Julia campus.
The college is holding a “neighborhood listening session” on the well issue from 3 to 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 20. The session, to be held at the Northwoods Center Room 207, will precede the regular monthly meeting of the school’s board of trustees, which is scheduled to start at 4:30.
“The trustees will not be present for the neighborhood listening session,” according to information posted on the Nicolet website announcing the event. “President Ferrel and other College leaders will be there. This is intended to be more of an informal conversation and discussion format, which will allow us to interact and engage with folks’ questions and concerns.”
Input on the well issue will also be accepted during the public comment portion of the board of trustees’ meeting at 4:30 p.m.

People who wish to speak will need to sign up in advance by contacting Kris Peeters at kpeeters@nicoletcollege.edu or by calling 715-365-4416.
The Nicolet website includes the following information on what to expect during the public input session during the board meeting,
Speakers will each have three minutes to speak. Additional time may be granted at the discretion of the Board Chair.
The Board will be focused on listening. They are not allowed to engage in dialogue or discussion on any matters raised during the public input period.
Respectful language is necessary to support an environment of civility and understanding. If speakers or audience members engage in defamatory or obscene speech, the Board Chair may require them to leave.
The trustees have a pivotal decision to make as the City of Rhinelander needs to purchase, rent or lease land on the campus in order to construct the new well.
For over a year, the city has been searching for an appropriate site for a new well to help alleviate stress on its water system. The city’s water supply has been the subject of concern since 2019 when two municipal wells (Nos. 7&8) had to be taken offline due to PFAS contamination. The city explored the possibility of locating a well on the fast-growing east side of the city, near the bypass, but an appropriate site couldn’t be found due to its proximity to the Town of Stella, home to some of the highest PFAS levels in Wisconsin.
Forced to search in another area, the city received permission to drill a test site on the college campus. In late March, the common council chose Town & Country Engineering to design the potential well and pumphouse, a necessary step to obtain funding for the project. However, news of the city’s well exploration activities came as a surprise to officials and residents in the Town of Pelican, where the college is located.
A large crowd was in attendance for the Pelican town board’s May 5 meeting, as it was announced that Mark Barden of Town&Country Engineering would be in attendance to provide an overview of the project.
During the meeting, Barden announced that the city had scheduled a public informational meeting for 3 to 4:30 p.m. May 12 at the Northwoods Center, Room 207 on the Nicolet campus. He explained that two of the company’s Madison-based engineers, Greg Droessler and Amy Beras, would be there to answer specific questions about the well’s potential impact on private wells and local bodies of water.
As that meeting took place after this edition went to press, continued coverage of the well issue will be available on our website, www.starjournalnow.com, as well as future print editions.
During the Pelican board meeting, a number of speakers expressed disappointment, frustration and confusion that the city did not make it known that they were testing potential well sites in Pelican. Some suggested the city was trying to “sneak” this project by its Pelican neighbors without regard for the potential consequences.
On Tuesday, May 6, the Star Journal asked both city administrator Patrick Reagan and Mayor Kris Hanus to respond to the concerns expressed by Pelican residents. Both men said they understand why Pelican residents are worried and conceded that the city could have done a better job in explaining its well exploration process. Reagan noted that the city could have advised Town of Pelican officials months ago but, at that time, the viability of the site was unknown. The city sought and received permission from the property owner (Nicolet) to test the area in question and the thinking was to wait on any broader communication until it could be determined that the site would indeed meet the city’s needs, he said. Both men were adamant that the city does not want to do anything that will hurt Town of Pelican residents.
“We want to move forward with this project in the best interests of the entire community not just the city,” Reagan said.
“We do need water but we’re not going to do it at all costs,” he added.
Hanus noted that there are checks and balances in place, as the DNR would play a major role in the approval process going forward.
He said he was hopeful that the public informational meeting with the Town&Country engineers would be helpful in providing Pelican residents with the answers they’re looking for.
“They need us as much as we need them,” he said, referring to the symbiotic relationship between the city and the townships that surround it. “We’re looking to make this better for everyone, and serve the needs of not only the residents of today but of the future. Really, we’re all in this together.”
Even if the two wells currently offline were treated to the extent that they could be returned to service, as some Pelican residents have suggested, the city would still be in need of another water source, both city officials said.
During the Pelican board meeting, Scholtes stated he was surprised to learn that treating the two offline wells, at a cost of millions of dollars, would not be sufficient.
He encouraged Pelican residents to take advantage of the upcoming opportunities to share their thoughts with Nicolet officials.
“It speaks volumes to come together as a community to speak out against this,” he said.