Story originally printed in the Onalaska Life or online at www.onalaskalife.com

Published - Friday, May 16, 2008

Onalaska school land might be improved for recreational site

By BOB SEAQUIST | Special correspondent

A housing development on Onalaska’s far east edge might mean another recreational site similar to the Riders Club Road soccer and softball fields.

The Onalaska School District owns 10 acres on French Road adjacent to the new French Valley neighborhoods development, prompting school administrators to use the developer’s landscaping and architectural firm to plan use of the school site.

“We need to look at the acreage and see how much usable space we have for a building,” Superintendent John Burnett said Monday at a regular Onalaska Board of Education meeting. “A fair amount of the land is hilly. It would be helpful to see what the best place would be for a potential building,” Burnett added.

The school district bought the land in 1990 and it has remained undeveloped. “No one has really taken a look at it since the district bought it, so we do not know how the site may best be used,” Burnett said.

The school board directed him to work out a contract with landscape architectural firm JJR of Madison to do the work. Burnett will report back to the school board at its May 19 meeting.

Working with the area’s developer would allow the schools to use resources of the landscape architect as well as prepare it for the eventuality that another elementary school would have to be built there.

Last year, developer Leo Bronston said a 110-acre, 193-unit residential development is planned for the area east of the La Crosse Country Club.

People

The board approved hiring Craig Kowal, former boys high school basketball coach at La Crescent, Minn., as varsity boy’s basketball coach.

Board appointments

Board appointments and assignments were announced Monday by board President Kirby Lentz: