Jennifer Schiller of A Place for Max said Monday the nonprofit could put the vacant Duer Gym to good use. She spoke at the City of Marinette’s Parks and Recreation Committee meeting.

Marinette Ward 6 Alderperson Debbie Klegin said Monday working at City Park campground at night could be scary. Ward 7 Alderperson Rick Polzin is seated beside her.

Jennifer Schiller of A Place for Max said Monday the nonprofit could put the vacant Duer Gym to good use. She spoke at the City of Marinette’s Parks and Recreation Committee meeting.

Marinette Ward 6 Alderperson Debbie Klegin said Monday working at City Park campground at night could be scary. Ward 7 Alderperson Rick Polzin is seated beside her.

MARINETTE—How to manage rowdy tent campers so they don’t ruin the camping for others at Marinette City Park campground was discussed Monday at the Parks and Recreation Committee meeting.

“Last year we had to close down tent sites,” said Pat Carlson, superintendent of public works. “Ninety percent of our problem happens after hours.”

The committee also discussed a new playground for Higley Recreation Area between Carney Avenue and Alice Lane and new uses for Duer Gym on Williams Street.

Last summer, the Marinette City Park campground had incidents of too many campers on a site, too many tents on a site and people overstaying their reservation, Carlson said. Some tent campers set up their tents on the wrong site and had to be asked to move. “Once their tents are set up, it’s difficult to get them moved,” he said.

But Debbie Klegin, 6th Ward alderperson, said other problems were more involved, such as partying and drug use.

Because of the potential problems, hiring people to work evenings and weekends is a challenge. The hours hardest to fill are from 3 to 11 p.m., and the position might not be suitable for teenagers because of the hassle they could encounter.

Klegin said teenagers aren’t the only people who might not want to deal with problem campers at night. “It’s kind of scary. I wouldn’t want to be in charge of that on the weekend and have to deal with that,” Klegin said. “I think we have to be honest about it. We’re not dealing with a camper being on the wrong site. We’re dealing with larger problems.”

Dorothy Kowalski, alderperson at large, suggested the city consider campground hosts. “We have to do this right or not do it,” Kowalski said. “We can’t leave it as it is.”

A financial analysis of the 2021 camping season suggested of $9,100 in revenue, camp trailers generated $7,000 and tents generated $2,100. Fees are expected to remain the same for the upcoming season at $20 a night, according to the campground’s website. https://www.marinette.wi.us/375/City-Park-Campground

The tent campers reportedly caused more problems than trailer campers did. “There were fights. They would leave the place trashed,” Carlson said.

Mayor Steve Genisot asked whether the city should consider allowing only camper trailers, not tents, for the upcoming season, “It seems tents have become a nightmare for squatting,” he said. “Maybe tents aren’t working out.”

He asked whether it was a matter of oversight. “They pretty much try to get away with anything and everything,” Carlson said. The committee said it would put the campground on the March agenda for consideration and possible action.

The Parks and Recreation Committee also briefly discussed the vacant Duer Gym at 402 Williams St. Gavin Scray, executive director of recreation and events, said he sent letters to nonprofit organizations and showed the facility to a couple of interested groups. “We’re looking for some direction moving forward on how we want to proceed,” he said.

Jennifer Schiller of A Place for Max, said the charity for adults with special needs is interested in using the gym as a place for exercise and arts and crafts. “Our dream is to have a community for adults with special needs, not just a home where they can sit and watch TV all day,” she said.

The upstairs would be used for offices for A Place for Max, she said. “We could have fundraising events there. It just would be an amazing opportunity for us,” she said.

“This would be a really great place for them to go. It just would be an amazing opportunity,” she said. “We don’t have a location. That’s the problem and that’s what we’re looking for. We did start our nonprofit about two years ago, and COVID knocked us flat. It cut out all our fundraising activities.”

Committee members discussed the need to put together criteria for making a recommendation to city council on the use of Duer Gym. They suggested allowing interested organizations to make presentations to the committee on their plans for using the gym at an upcoming meeting.

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