Winnebago County residents make suggestions for future use of UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus

PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK

MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Winnebago County residents chimed in with their input on the future redevelopment of the UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus at a public forum Wednesday.

The latest with the UW-Oshkosh at Fox Cities campus:

• Two-year college is now closed
• Winnebago County takes control on Tuesday, July 1
• Weis Earth Science Museum is moving to the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton
• Barlow Planetarium is staying as is
• Childcare center is staying, now under the direction of Menasha Joint School District
• Rest of 43-acre campus undecided. Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz hopes it’s divided for mixed use.

Hintz says he hopes to build housing or another revenue-generating source with the roughly one-third of the campus still undeveloped.

Some ideas raised Wednesday:

• “We’ve got to keep the band room going.”
• “I propose that we build on the Barlow, use the Weis space for a discovery center.”
• “You have the fitness center, it’s there. Keep it.”
• “The communication arts center conceivably could have dozens of tenants.”
• “Lease it out to the highest bidder and take the money and give it to the most marginalized in Winnebago County.”
• “Music is such a strong connector for people. Keep the community arts center.”
• “Continue to build up a community area that has more non-profit space.”
• “Certainly we don’t want to be costing the money, by losing positions in the county in order to be having the theater. And I’m convinced that’s really not going to be necessary.”
• “But we need to look big picture, think about tomorrow, think about 30 years from now and how is this gonna be financially viable.”
• The community says it’s willing to pitch in to keep these assets.

Hintz said these issues need to balance the primary goal to keep the property running, otherwise it won’t be viable for the county.

“The goal is to generate as much revenue as quickly as we can and balance the budget,” said Hintz.

Outagamie County ceded its control of the campus to Winnebago County last month. The Weis Earth Science Museum’s move was part of the agreement, as the History Museum at the Castle is in Outagamie County. Because of that, Winnebago County will be on the hook for the roughly $800,000 annual maintenance costs beginning on Tuesday, July 1.

Their next steps:

1. Host tours with interested parties
2. Winnebago County completes facilities assessment
3. Winnebago County completes inventory assessment
4. Winnebago County issues RFP (request for proposal) for long-term property management

They hope to generate some revenue before they compose the 2026 budget in early fall. They’ll also receive a $2 million grant from the state for redevelopment, according to Hintz.

Additionally, the city of Menasha will no longer receive the $100,000 annual payment the Universities of Wisconsin paid in lieu of property taxes.