Council Split on Buying Former BP Parcel

The city of Muskego could buy a vacant parcel at Janesville Road and Lannon Drive for $2,500, the latest offer in a back-and-forth between the city and Waukesha County. 

The county put the land, which is formerly home to a BP gas station, on the market for 45 days (as required by a state law) but did not draw a bidder. 

After the city offered to purchase the parcel for $1, Waukesha County countered with an offer of $2,500, which covers the cost of an appraisal, Community Development Director Jeff Muenkel said. 

Muenkel, Mayor Kathy Chiaverotti and some aldermen see $2,500 as a small price to pay to have control of a prime piece of land in the heart of the city. Otherwise, the city risks having the parcel sit vacant for several years, officials said.

"Our end goal ... is to get this parcel back in the tax base," Muenkel said. 

But other aldermen criticized the county for moving slowly on selling the land and were wary of spending money to prepare the site for redevelopment. A state grant may be available to help with the clean-up, but is not a certainty like the city once thought. 

"At this point, we should take a good look at not spending any money on that property and let somebody buy it and develop it," Alderman Robert Wolfe said. 

The council held off on voting July 9, due to the absence of two aldermen, and will revisit the issue in its next meeting, scheduled for July 23.