MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – After canceling its meeting last month, the UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities Board of Trustees met Monday afternoon to discuss the future of the campus.
The Board shared its plans for the campus and heard from community members concerned about its auxiliary buildings.
Richard Beal, president of Northeastern Wisconsin Stargazers told us, “We realized that the Barlow Planetarium, along with the Weis Earth Science Museum and the CAC, are critical pieces of our community fabric and we would be really, really hurting as a community if those were to disappear.”
Beal says the NEWSTAR team isn’t the only group fighting for the buildings. “We are looking to be advocates for the Barlow,” he said. “There are advocates for the CAC, there are advocates for the Weis. We want to join them and work together.”
At Monday’s meeting, the board voted to approve the appraisal of on-campus properties. However, the Board stresses the appraisal isn’t meant to imply they’re looking to sell the property.
“The two counties who are the landlords of this property need to know the value of this property as we move forward in finding the future pathways for this campus,” said Walt Ulbricht, a member of the Board of Trustees and Winnebago Count Supervisor for District 3.
Thomas Swan, chair of the Board, told us more.
“Defining the physical asset we have here. The square footage of the building. The physical characteristics,” he explained. If we’re going to place a new occupant in the classroom space, we’re going to need to know those things,” Swan said.
The Board will also have a facility conditions test done at the same time as the appraisal to understand improvements that will need to be made to the campus.
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