PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — One dollar. That was the price the Menasha Joint School District would have paid to take over the UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus.
Instead, the district backed out of the deal last month.
There’s no offer on the table right now, but officials are working to get to that point.
“We’ve been doing our due diligence,” said Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson. “We understand that there are a lot of stakeholders. There are a lot of concerns out there.”
Outagamie County and Winnebago County share ownership of the property. Nelson said he doesn’t want to rush what comes next, stressing the campus’s place in the community.
“We want to make sure that we’re not going to miss anything,” said Nelson. “We want to make sure that what we’re doing is going to be in the best interest of the taxpayers, the residents of both counties.”
As owners, the counties would each have to pay $400,000 per year just to maintain the campus if a buyer isn’t found. UW-Oshkosh’s lease runs through Dec. 31, but Nelson said he hopes to have a buyer before July 1.
“We are looking at transferring to an entity that is going to be responsible for the entire campus,” said Nelson.
That could include the Weis Earth Science Museum and Barlow Planetarium, but without guarantee.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that both assets remain in the community,” said Nelson, “Whether or not that’s going to be at the campus or some place else.”
UW-Oshkosh said it’s working with the counties and plans to transfer 80% of the employees to their main UWO campus.
Outagamie County plans to release more detailed plans next Tuesday, adding that the three proposed appraisals are all on hold.
The $1 sale price, though? It could still happen.
“All options are on the table,” said Nelson.
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