City moves away from Edgewater Manor, halts applications
By Taylor Hale
Staff Writer
STEVENS POINT — City officials moved forward with a long-term strategy for Edgewater Manor during a Nov. 16 common council meeting. The decision came after years of debate on how to handle the facility.
The city will transition away from occupancy at Edgewater and find alternatives to house its current residents, though a straight-forward course of action was not specified.
The motion passed with a 7-3 vote. Alders Fishler, Leek, Kneebone, Slowinski, Johnson, Zarazua, and Jennings voted in favor of the motion.
Other approaches included putting out a request for proposals (RFP) for the facilities or having the city put additional funding into repairing the building, which would lead to higher rent costs for seniors living at Edgewater.
Director of Community Development Ryan Kernosky noted that if a third party would take control of the building, repairs would still need to be made and rent prices would likely go up.
After the facilities are fully vacated, the city would likely raze the structure.
The transition away from the building stems from needed repairs. Temporary repairs to the building’s structure were made two years ago but will only last for roughly three years.
An amendment made to the motion also halted all residency applications at Edgewater, starting on Nov. 16. From this point on, the facilities will no longer take in new residents.