Rice Lake, WI – The City of Rice Lake has been offered the right of first refusal and option to buy the property for 550 thousand dollars. Rice Lake Mayor Harlan Dodge said that price is negotiable and the city has not yet made a decision to buy or not. Under consideration is how to pay for it and what the building could be used for. A future need for the city is a new fire hall, and Dodge supports turning the armory into one.
“Because what we can pay for the building and what it would cost to renovate and add on, it would probably save the residents of Rice Lake about $15 million.” Dodge said. “It is in residential neighborhood, so they would not turn their sirens on until they got to a major street and then they would turn on their sirens.”
Other proposals include a recreation center, senior citizens center or affordable housing. The city has until mid-April to decide to purchase. Residents can find contact info for their council member online at city of rice lake dot com.