Exciting News from Meeting

Last week the New Glarus Parks & Recreation Committee met at the New Glarus Village Hall to discuss the request before them concerning the land adjacent to Candy Cane Park that is owned by Shepherd of the Hills Church but is currently listed for sale. A group of over 30 concerned citizens of the community attended the meeting to voice their concerns over the potential loss of this green space, which has operated as an extension of Candy Cane Park for over 50 years.

Also in attendance at the meeting was Deb Carey, Co-Founder/President of New Glarus Brewing Company, and a representative of the non-profit organization, Only In Wisconsin Giving, the charitable arm of New Glarus Brewing Company. Carey asked to speak first during the public comments portion of the meeting and told the Committee that her foundation had an accepted offer to purchase the 2.2-acre green space offered for sale by Shepherd of the Hills Church, but that the offer is contingent upon the Village accepting the land as a donation and agreeing to maintain it as green space going forward.

Carey further indicated that she is working with the local community group New Glarus Cares who is collecting pledges and fundraising to cover the cost of the land purchase. Her intent is to help facilitate the fundraising by giving the group time to raise the necessary funds while protecting the property from other interested parties who want to develop that land.

Those attending the Parks & Recreation Committee meeting were excited to hear about this gracious act by Carey and her Only In Wisconsin Giving Foundation. Members of New Glarus Cares in attendance indicated that they had collected over $20,000 in pledges to date without much effort as they wanted to ensure that the Village was open to accepting the land as a donation before they moved ahead with collecting actual donations and holding fundraising events. The group thanked Carey for her commitment to the community but emphasized that it’s now up to the current and former citizens of New Glarus to step forward and help the group raise the $149,900 needed to fund the project. The group has many exciting fundraising events planned, details of which will be shared very soon.