Farmer could lose lease with county

One week after deciding against selling the old county “poor farm,” Shawano County officials are considering breaking their lease with a farmer who rents the property.

Kraig Rosenow, who has grown crops on the farm property for at least 15 years, could lose his lease on 284 acres, for which he pays the county $35,000 a year.

Despite recently signing a new five-year lease with Rosenow, county officials said they might decide to seek competing bids from other farmers interested in renting the property in the town of Belle Plaine.

Rosenow spoke out one week earlier against a proposal to sell the county farm, but it was unclear whether that was related to the new discussion about possibly breaking his lease.

The farmer made an emotional plea to county supervisors Thursday to honor his lease, saying he has already purchased supplies for the upcoming growing season and that he has worked hard to take care of the property.

“I have treated that land as if it were my own,” he said, his voice trembling.

Members of the county’s public property committee discussed the matter behind closed doors Thursday and then voted to postpone action on the lease for one month.

Before the meeting, County Board Chairman Jerry Erdmann said the lease was coming under scrutiny as part of a broader discussion on whether the county should be more diligent about soliciting competing bids when leasing property to private renters.

The topic of Rosenow’s lease came up when county officials moved recently to approve a similar deal with a farmer for a smaller property near the county’s landfill, Erdmann said.

“That’s basically opened up another question,” he said.

Supervisor Sandy Steinke, who serves on the public property committee, said after Thursday’s meeting she was unclear why Rosenow’s lease was being reviewed. She said she could not vote to break a lease that was just signed two months ago.

“I think leave it alone,” she said.

Located in Belle Plaine just north of state Highway 22, the property was acquired by the county in the early 1900s and was used for decades as a “poor farm” for people who were indigent or mentally ill. The poor farm was shut down by the 1990s, and Rosenow has been paying the county to grow crops there.

Currently set at $125 an acre, his rent payments have been used in recent years to fund maintenance of facilities on the county fairgrounds in Shawano.

The lease was renewed Dec. 31 for another five-year period that begins April 1.

The defeated proposal to sell the farm involved about 150 acres of the 284 acres that Rosenow leases. Other nearby county land used for public recreation would not have been included in the sale.

Proponents of putting the farm up for sale argued that the county has no use for the property and that selling it could generate money to improve county facilities or services elsewhere. By some estimates, the land would have likely drawn offers of more than $500,000.

County supervisors, however, said they heard strong public opposition to the sale, and the plan was defeated by a 22-4 vote at the board’s Feb. 24 meeting.

Rosenow publicly urged county supervisors to oppose the sale, which was supported by three members of the public property committee, including Erdmann.

After Thursday’s committee meeting, Rosenow declined to comment about his lease with the county.

The committee’s next scheduled meeting is April 7.

The chairman of another committee expected to weigh in on the farm lease issue said he had no idea why the lease was being reviewed.

Supervisor Robert Krause, chairman of the agriculture, extension and conservation committee, said the topic was coming “completely out of left field.”

Talking about terminating the lease suggests unfairly that Rosenow has somehow violated the terms, Krause said. No such violation has occurred, Krause added, which he said leaves him befuddled as to why the issue is being raised.

“I have no clue — I really don’t,” he said. “There’s no rhyme or reason.”