The City of Stanley’s Plan Commission needs your help. If someone by chance owns a drone and would like to send pro bono updated aerial photos to the City of Stanley at 353 South Broadway, it would help to get a proper overview of the City landscape as it now stands, so that planning can better capture what is versus what needs to be done.

With drone pilots few and far between and aerial photos reportedly being taken “only so often,” having up-to-date pictures that document on the ground realities would be nice for future planning purposes. Case in point: the current aerial photo being used for Soo Line Park doesn’t show the new Kwik Trip store located just across the tracks, on account that the photo was taken prior to the construction last year of the now established retail gas sales giant. Aerial photos can be submitted to City Hall or by email. Your community will thank you.

With that little PSA now out of the way, it was planning room only as the Stanley Plan Commission heard of the City’s needs along with a draft of the Vision Statement at its meeting June 29 from Susan Badtke, Associate Planner for the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. Meeting to review the draft plan made by the WCWRPC, the Stanley Plan Commission is trying to determine just how best to help the City thrive in the years to come. Present for the City’s side of things were Administrator-Clerk-Treasurer Cynthianna Bergman, First Ward Alderman Rick Hodowanic, Plan Commission members Dave Jankoski and Larry Norrell, local surveyor and Plan Commission member Rick Denzine, and Mayor Al Haas. Quorum being firmly established, it was into the Vision Statement.

“In 2040, the City of Stanley is a thriving community where citizens work together and value the community as a great place to live, work, and recreate.” The statement is short and simple on the surface. In order to get to the desired destination though, the people of the City must work together to achieve many different things. Specifically, the draft plan states the following as being 20-year goals to work toward for 2040:

• Adequate and affordable living accommodations for all residents, which include diverse housing options for all ages and incomes.

• A thriving and vibrant downtown, which serves as a destination and is home to culture, retail, and restaurants.

• A well-connected multi-model community that connects various destinations throughout the City (e.g., downtown to Chapman Park).

• A high quality, K-12 education system that prepares students for local, regional, and international opportunities.

• Development that has character and is compatible with existing and future land uses in the City

• Recreational opportunities throughout the City.

• Clear air and clean and abundant surface water and ground water.

So far, so good. But getting to the goal also requires both assessment and planning, leading into the current challenges faced by the City, which are several. In particular, teachers reportedly have difficulty finding housing (a recent school board meeting observed that it’s “getting harder to find teachers” as well) and the City needs more housing stock, “especially a need for higher end rentals,” per the draft comprehensive plan. Having more building lots that are zoned for residential construction is a necessary inference for solving these problems, in part.

As to current City infrastructure, expansion of the current water/sewer/road system is expensive, “and developers have stated they will not come in to develop without 100 lots.” For the East Business Park along Highway 29, there is a need to decide on the appropriate land use mix, and the updated zoning map has to be consistent with the comprehensive plan by the City and past rezoning approvals. Additionally, there is need to foster tracking of zoning approvals.

As to transportation, the current plan records a desire for better connectivity with bike and pedestrian trails near the school, as well as a Chapman Park trail, which would necessitate working with private business owners and the railroad for right of way or easement on a disused rail corridor by Chapman Lake.

When it comes to natural resources, there is a desire to dredge Chapman Lake and a recent history of flooding. When it comes to the downtown area, many buildings need better facades and there are vacancies. In addition, it is felt that the City should address “infill opportunities,” with the former Hotel Royal site still an empty lot almost 16 years after it was demolished. Finally, there’s also the question of working with other adjacent local governments, but this wasn’t seen as a problem by Badtke.

“I know when we talked about intergovernmental relations it didn’t seem like there were any issues with surrounding towns,” she said. Bordered by Thorp, Delmar and Edson, the City of Stanley continues into the future. After a final presentation by Badtke and a recommendation by the Plan Commission to the Council, the current Comprehensive Plan would be approved for making the City of Stanley an even better place to live, now and into the future.