The Kewaunee County Board approved the sale of two parcels of land from its old county farm property in the town of Pierce at its Oct. 18 meeting, said county administrator Ed Dorner.

The two parcels, which totaled 150.9 acres, were sold to Randy Ebert and John Pagel.

The land sales totaled $704,000, said Dorner. The County Board has earmarked the monies for improvements at the Kewaunee County Fair, including construction of an office building, improving the stormwater drainage at the fairgrounds, and making some changes at the race track.

• Also approved at the Oct. 18 meeting was the sale of the former Courthouse Annex to Glenn Schlies, Dorner said.
• The county board, by a 19-1 vote, approved an ordinance creating a park zone on Oct. 18 that will allow for the development of 18 acres of soccer fields at the 135-acre Ryan Besserdich Park in West Kewaunee by the Kewaunee County Youth Soccer Association (KCYSA).

The County Board followed a 4-0 recommendation from the Promotions and Recreation Board earlier in the evening.

Don Delebreau, who said he followed the wishes of his constituents, cast the dissenting vote on the county board.

"I'm happy we're moving forward with the (soccer) project. It's good to get things going," said Matt Payette, director of the Kewaunee County Promotions and Recreation Department.

KCYSA had previously presented design and funding plans for eight soccer fields to hold their seasonal games and annual tournament. It indicated no tax levy dollars would be going into the project. Under a proposed lease with the county, KCYSA would pay $200,000 for the initial excavation and seeding of the fields, a $2,500 annual rental to the county and an additional $1,000 a year for 10 years in a restoration fund.

However, it appeared the soccer development was in danger. When the entire Ryan Park development plan was brought to the West Kewaunee Zoning Board of Appeals in September to allow a park development on land that was previously zoned A-1 agricultural use, the zoning board approved a conditional-use permit only for 117 acres of nature-based outdoor activity, but denied a conditional-use permit for the soccer project.

At the time, the zoning board heard concerns about increased traffic on County C, the possibility of conflicts with farm equipment that also uses the road, that the soccer families would complain about manure spreading in the area and the smell, and some debate whether the soccer project fell under commercial development that the late Edna Besserdich apparently did not want for the land.

However, an Oct. 15 story in the Kewaunee County Star-News indicated that KCYSA president Robyn Harper said her organization had addressed all of the concerns. Harper said soccer-related traffic would only have peaks during game times, which run from 5:15 p.m. to after 8 p.m., three days a week, for about nine weeks in the summer. Harper said the soccer families would not care about farm smell any more than campers at Cedar Valley Campground or other users of Ryan Park.

The story said both Harper and Payette indicated the executor of the Besserdich will, Keith Pollek, had spoken in favor of the soccer project and said it was in line with his cousin's wishes.

Dorner said during the public comment portion of the county board meeting on Oct. 18 that opinions were expressed by both sides. He said there was "not a great deal of debate" by the board.

The proposed soccer fields will be near the intersection of County C and Cedar Valley Road, Payette said.