OCONTO– The City of Oconto Common Council at its Sept. 16 meeting amended the shipping-container ordinance it supported in August. The reversal allows an Oconto liquidation business with a container the city awarded a permit for in 2024 to continue operating from the container.
In a separate action, the council approved a zoning change paving the way for a residence in an area previously zoned commercial, despite a neighbor’s complaints about the rezoning request at a public hearing held before the meeting.
The council voted 7 to 1 to approve the container ordinance amendment, with Alder Darrell Anderson casting the single “no” vote. Just a month earlier, the council unanimously supported a motion to allow Public Works and Parks Superintendent Jeremy Wusterbarth and Building Inspector Joe Last to work with shipping container owners to develop written plans for removing the containers in a reasonable timeframe that may extend beyond 60 days.
The shipping-container ordinance as passed earlier in the year prohibited shipping containers in all zoning districts and provided owners 60 days to comply.
The amendment adds an exemption for any permitted pre-existing non-conforming shipping containers within the highway business zoning district as long as they are painted a light color consistent with the primary building, don’t have writing or graffiti and meet all set back requirements. The exempt status ends when the business moves or ceases operations.
Only one business, PM Liquidation, had received a permit for a shipping container, Burruel said. The company sells a variety of items at discounted prices from a shipping container at 802 Main St. and had said the ordinance banning containers would force them to move the business to another municipality.
“That’s going to force our business out of Oconto. We’ve brought a ton of business to this town. It benefits the community. I don’t want to get attorneys into it. We’re just trying to find a resolution so we can continue to support the community and keep our business going,” said owner Peter Duerr who spoke during the public input period on Aug. 17.
Before voting on the amendment at the Sept. 16 meeting, the council considered whether it should rescind the ordinance or amend it.
In supporting an ordinance amendment, Alder Dee Donlevy said, “We don’t want to rework things we don’t have to rework. If we didn’t have to rescind this, if we could amend it, that’s wonderful. When we have a local business that comes to us to express their concerns and advise us on the impact of the decisions, it behooves the council to take that into consideration even when it happened months ago. Maybe we don’t understand the whole picture,” she said.
Donlevy said PM Liquidation had attended city council multiple meetings and received a permit for their shipping container April 25, 2024. “They were trying to do the right things right,” Donlevy said. The owners had a pad excavated to ensure it was level and would look “decent,” she said. It passed a federal inspection.
Zoeller also said he was willing to change his mind to allow for an amendment to the ordinance. “What changed my mind – and I’m not 100% for it – is they have the permit,” he said.
At a public hearing held immediately before the council meeting, 30-year Oconto resident Nancy Lewis of 105 Park Ave. spoke against a zoning change to 1218 Pekoe that would convert the current commercial parcel to R2 zoning.
“We have the apartment building across the street. We have the empty hospital up on the corner, so what would be the sense of putting another apartment building in?” Lewis asked.
Mayor Martin said it would be a single-family residence, though other council members didn’t confirm this. R2 zoning permits multifamily units, while R1 restricts the use to single-family homes, according to the city’s ordinances, as accessed on ecode360.com, an online platform providing access to municipal ordinances.
At the council meeting that followed the public hearing, the council voted without opposition to approve Nancy Ruben’s petition for a zoning amendment for 1218 Pecor St., changing the zoning to R2.
It approved a temporary alcohol beverage license application from Holy Trinity Parish for the 38th Annual Holy Trinity Parish Auction on Nov. 8.
It approved repairs to a 2003 chipper truck on the Harbor Commission’s recommendation.
It also approved changes to harbor slip rental fees and seasonal camping fees in 2026, agreeing to leave other short-term camping fees unchanged. Stenstrup voted against the seasonal fee increases, while other alders supported it.
The council approved two asphalt-paving bids, for $59,419 and $28,486, for the campground from the Oconto County Highway Department.
Wusterbarth said the asphalt wasn’t put out for bid because the county is available to do the work at about a 30% discount. The work will likely be performed in late October, when the park doesn’t have a lot of campers.
The council agreed to take ownership of 1131 Main St. and place the property for sale by closed bid. If it doesn’t receive an offer it considers reasonable, it doesn’t have to accept it, Martin said.
It approved a three-year assessment agreement with R&R Assessing Services LLC.
It approved accounts payable for August of $2.1 million, and payroll of $192,339.
It approved Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades to Lunda Construction for $335,796. It approved a Crane Engineering quote for pumps at the Wastewater Treatment Plant not to exceed $40,000.
To a question about how much the city has spent so far on Wastewater Treatment Plant improvements, Burruel said, the original contract was for $6.1 million. To date, the city has paid about $3.7 million or $3.8 million, she said.
For Cross Street water main replacement, it approved Feaker and Sons Co.’s bid of $48,850, which was the lowest bid.
The council also agreed to petition the Secretary of Transportation for airport improvements.
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