Muskego's BP Land Offer is Held Off by County

A very small for sale sign is posted on the vacant lot at the corner of Janesville Road and Lannon Drive, representing the county's answer to Muskego's offer to purchase the land for $1: "No." Or at least, "Not yet."

Mayor Kathy Chiaverotti updated the Common Council Tuesday night that they had received word from Waukesha County that they are instead seeking to sell the land to an investor instead. Muskego retains the right of refusal, which allows them to best any offer the county receives, and Chiaverotti said the county would have about 45 days to receive such an offer.

"The land needs a lot of work, and it needs to be cleaned up, so I don't know how successful they'll be," she said.

After the 45 days, the city may still hear from the county to offer a better price on the land, which has some contamination issues that will have to be addressed before any future development beyond a parking lot is to be done.

Karen Braun, an engineer with the county's department of public works, told Muskego Patch that the response wasn't a rejection, but mainly a need to stick with the process set forth by the state.

"State statutes require that we put up any land that we hold for public sale first, and surprisingly we have gotten a couple of phone calls already on it," she said. "As the city will still have the right of first refusal, it could come back to the city for the cost of appraisal, or about $2,500, plus a dollar."

Care to place your own bid on the land if you plan on opening a business? The bid process begins today (April 25) and can be found on the Waukesha County website. The land currently does not have an opening bid.