Town of Washington Board of Supervisors today voted uninimously to petition the state to incorporate part of the town as a village in order to control its own land use, establish fixed borders, and prevent future annexations.
“Town of Washington residents are heavily invested in ensuring that we grow our area in a way that preserves the beautiful landscape and wonderful community quality we have worked so hard to build and preserve. As a village, the residents will have direct control over how we grow.”
-Robert “Bob” Solberg, chair of the Town of Washington’s Board of Supervisors
The vote to petition for incorporation took place after research and community input. A recent listening session drew over 200 town residents, where 99% of attendees voiced their support for incorporation.
“The Town of Washington has been here for over 150 years, and we want to make sure it’s here for another 150 years. The only way we can ensure that is to become a village so we can control our own land use and development,” said Robert “Bob” Solberg, chair of the Town of Washington’s Board of Supervisors. “Town of Washington residents are heavily invested in ensuring that we grow our area in a way that preserves the beautiful landscape and wonderful community quality we have worked so hard to build and preserve. As a village, the residents will have direct control over how we grow.”
As the third largest municipality in Eau Claire County, the Town of Washington stands as the 12th largest town in Wisconsin.
Given the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s requirements, the town will not be able to incorporate its entire area as a village. If the petition process is successful, the Village of Washington and the new Town of Washington would operate “separately but together,” with shared resources and services, allocating assets and expenses by collaborative agreement much like the Village of Lake Hallie and the Town of Hallie do today, after the successful incorporation in 2004.
The proposed village area is bounded by the Town’s most southern and western boundaries, the City of Eau Claire to the north and Interstate 94 to the east. The estimated population of the village would be 5,240 people, or 65 percent of the Town of Washington’s current population, over double the number required by the State of Wisconsin, and would cover approximately 19.5 square miles, almost five times the area required for incorporation. The proposed village would be part of the Eau Claire school district.
The new Town of Washington would have a population of approximately 2,526 over 34.5 square miles, bounded by the towns of Pleasant Valley, Clear Creek, Lincoln, and Seymour and the cities of Eau Claire and Altoona. The new Town of Washington would be part of the Altoona, Eau Claire, and Fall Creek school districts.
