Beaver Dam Unveils $6M Borrowing Plan, Up To $13M For New DPW Facility

(Beaver Dam) The city of Beaver Dam’s proposed borrowing for next year totals $5.9-million dollars. The common council Monday night received an overview of the 2021 Capital Improvements Plan, which also identifies grants totaling $871-thousand dollars.

The document designates $4.25-million dollars for roads next year, which includes $1.2-million dollars for the second phase of South Spring Street and $845-thousand dollars for West Street from Third to Oneida.

The Parks Department is seeking $1.5-million dollars, which includes $150-thousand dollars for Cotton Mill Park and $1.2-million dollars for improvements to Swan Park. The Swan Park project allocates $445-thousand dollars for restoration of the lagoon wall and $700-thousand dollars for a splash pad to replace the pool, which is half the cost. The other half is earmarked in 2022 but Mayor Becky Glewen notes a fundraising effort is being launched to help defray costs. If all goes according to plan, the splash pad would be in place by spring of 2022.

The fire department is seeking $415-thousand dollars for a training facility and vehicle replacement. The police department is asking for $50-thousand dollars as part of a multi-year effort to build an outdoor shooting range.

The biggest price tag unveiled Monday night was for the Department of Public Works. The DPW is seeking $431-thousand dollars through the CIP for a dump truck and John Deere Wheel Loader. However, the big investment would come from relocation of the entire DPW and Parks facility. At between $10-and-$13-million dollars, the proposal would exist outside the CIP, which is a ten-year borrowing plan, and would instead be spread out over 20 years.

Mayor Glewen says the current facility is no longer practical or safe after being identified for replacement in a facilities study ten years ago. A new proposed DPW site would be in the city’s business park off Industrial Drive behind Conagra Foods, formerly Birdseye.