Plans were revealed Wednesday night by three communities north of Wausau to absorb the dying paper mill town of Brokaw with the proposed boundaries of a newly created village effectively blocking annexation by Wausau.
The public got to comment Wednesday night on plans for the future boundaries of the new village of Maine, which would absorb Brokaw and also pick up a sliver of land in the adjacent Town of Texas along Wausau’s northern border. This would block the city from future annexations.
Gordon Popko, who lives in Wausau and owns property in the Town of Texas, said that
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“What we’re trying to do, in my opinion, is block any type of annexation to the city of Wausau from the Town of Texas to the north. I really don’t know that I have ever seen such a blatant attempt to prevent something to occur,” he said.
Voters in the village of Maine voted overwhelmingly –83 percent to 17 percent — to incorporate in December.
Wausau city officials are suing to block the move for alleged open meetings violations. Maine leaders said that they did nothing wrong.
By incorporating, village of Maine leaders said that they will have more tools to help their taxpayers shoulder the crushing debt left when the Wausau Paper Co. mill closed in Brokaw.
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