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The Onalaska Planning Commission Subcommittee approved a subdivision of lots on Midwest Drive that will allow Franciscan Skemp to expand. John Nemec, vice president of regional services for Franciscan Skemp said the clinic has enjoyed success at that location and was in need of additional space, right now especially for parking.

When the facility was first constructed, Franciscan Skemp was planning to build a parking ramp, according to Nemec, but parking problems have brought the issue to the forefront sooner than expected. “With the bank (Associated) not going to build, we looked at buying 10 acres. It gives us flexibility. Based on available parking at the clinic, we’re pretty tight.”

Franciscan Skemp plans to buy 10 acres — one full lot and about 80 percent of another lot — from Associated Bank. Subdivision of the lot had to be approved by the Planning Commission Subcommittee and will have to be approved by the full commission next Tuesday and the full Onalaska Common Council at its June 10 meeting.

“The first thing we’ll look at is expansion of parking this summer,” Nemec said. “We’ll move employee parking to the east and open up the employee parking lot to patient parking. We hope to have that finished by late summer, early fall.”

With the additional land, further expansion is being considered. “Second, we’ll be looking to see if we should build up or out,” Nemec said.

Mike and Joyce Diveley also submitted a request to subdivide their property at the northeast corner of Sand Lake Road and Quincy Street. They plan to build a 1,930-square-foot building to be used for office space, but not any time soon.

K&J Investments of La Crosse requested rezoning of properties the company recently bought at 600 and 622 Second Ave. S. They want to rezone from Business District 1 to Business District 2. Karl Yanzer and Joe Cyrowski purchased the properties at the end of April. They plan to operate their ServiceMaster franchise from those properties.

The rezoning from B1 to B2 will allow their crews to load and unload cleaning equipment in vans and trailers. Cyrowski said they have two to three crews that might be going in and out after hours. The area is a blend of mostly commercial uses, with residential, single family homes.

According to Cyrowski, they have been in business more than 20 years and have been leasing a building, but had an opportunity to buy the Onalaska properties for the business. They are in the process of building offices for employees.

This rezoning request will be subject to a public hearing before the Plan Commission at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 27.