La Crosse County committee decides on holding onto 111-acre farmland, instead of selling — for now

Deal, or no deal? For now, there’s no deal to sell La Crosse County property in West Salem, where the county farm used to be.

County leaders had been talking with the promoters of the Country Boom concert, who have wanted to buy land along Lake Neshonoc for a concert venue and new housing. The project was discussed at the county board meeting on Monday night.

But on Wednesday, the county’s Executive Committee decided not to put the land up for sale, until they figure out what the site is worth, and consider more possible offers.

Jason Gilman, speaking for Country Boom, said the organization’s offer for the 111-acre site would allow for lots of future housing development.

“Country Boom has a very light footprint on the land,” Gilman said, “so you can effectively look at that as development reserve, because who knows what happens in the next 50, 75, a hundred years? Country Boom could migrate to a new location, a bigger location, and that land is still available for development of a future community.”

Gilman had said that Country Boom, which usually happens during the mid-summer, probably would not be staged at a new location until next year at the earliest.

La Crosse County officials have said it’s very early in the planning stages. The Executive Committee released this statement after the meeting:

“This morning, the La Crosse County Board’s Executive Committee voted unanimously to not entertain offers for the County Farm property at this time. This decision allows time to conduct due diligence, including a formal appraisal of the site and the development of an objective, transparent process to invite possible interest in the property. The County remains committed to identifying a future use for the County Farm that delivers the greatest long-term benefit for our community.”