Voters in Forest county might see a referendum this fall whether to allow the county to work on the development of a large offroad park.
The county Forestry committee Tuesday passed a resolution unanimously. Forest Administator David Ziolkowski says the committee discussed land acquisition and DNR requirements, then decided to ask the full county board for a public vote.
"....the committee took action on a 70 vote and the vote was in favor of sending a resolution to our full county board of supervisors at their August 19 meeting to have a countywide referendum whether to acquire land and develop an MRA(offroad) park here in Forest county...."
The county has been torn over whether to commit to acquire land so an off-road group could develop the park. Proponents say it would be a large economic boost, while opponents say it could be costly, not good for the environment and not provide as much economic help as proponents say.
The plan could be as large as 10,000 acres with the first phase around 2,000 acres with the hope of getting some state money to develop the park. The land would be acquired from private forest land.
The county board must have a decision to the state by August 26 so the matter could be on the November ballot.
