Brinkman’s Landing dedication ceremony held Monroe County seizes grant opportunity

Yesterday, Wednesday, June 7th, there was a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting held at 17476 Icarus Road, in the town of Sparta – a property once owned by Alan G. Brinkman. Brinkman was there, but his home was gone, as were his shed and garage; now a graveled turnaround and parking area for the new canoe/kayak landing, named in his honor. “It’s kind of sad,” admitted Brinkman. “But it’s nice that other people can use it and have access to the water … that’s cool. I miss being able to walk out of my home and just go fishing.”  

After floods ravaged the core of Brinkman’s homestead, more than once, he realized that taking part in the Monroe County Voluntary Home Buyout Program was his ticket to dryer climes and peace of mind. “I bought this place in 2001, got flooded in ’17 and ’18, and I was out in ’20,” Brinkman informed the Herald. He said that being hit with a flood a second time, in such a short time span, was too much to handle. Brinkman now lives on French Island, in La Crosse. “I went from being in the water, to now, I can’t drink the water,” quipped Brinkman.  

The roughly 40 people in attendance all stood, forgoing the six open chairs that sat upon the gravel. Speckled throughout the crowd were Brinkman family members, Monroe County Board members, news outlets and Monroe County Department heads. Tina Osterberg, Monroe County Administrator, started out the event by giving a brief overview of the how Monroe County had gotten to this point, with the canoe and kayak landing. Osterberg then handed the microphone to Roxie Anderson, Monroe County Land Use Planner.

Anderson stated that she was able to find grant funding from Couleecap, FEMA, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), through the Municipal Flood Control Grant Program, with Monroe County being held to account for matching 12.5% of that grant. “We had three different pots of money that we had to coordinate with, to cover eight different properties,” Anderson informed the attendees. “It was a lot of juggling, but we lined it up. The grants covered the cost of acquisition and the cost of demolition, in efforts of returning these sites to open spaces.”

Anderson went on to state the monetary amounts received from each agency. “We received our FEMA grants, which Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) also matched, so we received over $1.1 million for six of those properties [eligible for the buyout program]. Couleecap fully funded two of the properties, with this property [formerly Al Brinkman’s residence] being one of those two.”

The next speaker was Zoning Director, Alison Elliot. She spoke of how the project was completed in two phases. In the first phase, there was applying for the grant, going through acquisition, and getting the property signed over to Monroe County. Phase two was getting the bids for the demolition. “Things that were removed on the property were the structures, obviously,” Elliot explained. “Wells and septics were abandoned and filled in with clean fill. Any part of the structure had to be removed below a foot, returning the land completely to open space.”

Alison quipped with the crowd, “One thing Roxie and I were shocked by, was that it took two years to get the grants and get everything lined up, and then the houses and properties were gone in two days.” She went on to state that as part of the grant, they removed all flood debris, truly returning it back to open space. “If there was blacktop, or big cement patios, or driveways, they all got removed and hauled off. Holes were drilled in basements, so everything drained out, then they were filled with clean fill.”

Roxie Anderson spoke of certain restrictions that now applied to the land. “These properties can never be developed again; they will be open space into perpetuity. No structures can be built, no storage of equipment and no waste,” Anderson explained. “Also, the land must be owned by a public entity, or an eligible conservation organization. These are assurances that these properties will not be returned back to putting structures on them.”

Alison Elliot then stated, “Every three years FEMA will do a review, of the open-space properties, as part of the grant program to be sure that it [the land] is being maintained as open space.”

Roxie Anderson then informed the attendees that Monroe County will outline responsibilities for property inventory, as well as maintenance and management considerations. “We will figure out public uses, [such as] passive, recreation, fishing, picnicking and hopefully some environmental educational opportunities,” she said. “We will also identify potential flood mitigation projects, where we can do stream-bank restoration, buffer improvements, and flood detention projects.”

Anderson then explained how these land properties will add value to Monroe County and its residents, and that Monroe County is looking forward to what the next 7 properties will turn into.

Monroe County Board Chairman, Cedric Schnitzler, told a story of how he and his parents were on a canoe ride, back in 1980, and they had actually pulled the canoe out, at the very spot they were all standing, for the dedication. “I said to my dad that there should be a landing here. True story!”  Then he went on to thank Bob Micheel -Monroe County Land Conservation Director, Alison Elliot, Tina Osterberg, Adrian Lockington, Roxie Anderson, Bryce Richardson, for all that they had accomplished. “A job well done.”

Al Brinkman chatted with the Herald, after the ceremony, recalling the beauty of the area and how he fully embraced that beauty and the natural opportunities that the river provided. “I used to grab my coffee, set it on one of two rocks in the river, and just start fishing, first thing in the morning,” Brinkman recalled. “You can learn so much, just by watching the river. One of the neatest things I saw was a hawk grabbing a trout out of the water. Then he went to that little sandbar there and started to eat it. Then two crows came and started messing with the Hawk. One splashed in the water, then the other one jumped on the hawk’s back! Well, the hawk flew off … I miss this place — it will always be special.”