REAL ESTATE | Washington Co. Community Gardeners disappointed in moving lot for more housing in West Bend, Wi

September 17, 2026 – West Bend, Wi – For 19 years, the Washington County Community Garden at Water Street and Indiana Avenue has provided residents with garden plots for the summer. That could change as Washington County government moves forward with plans for residential development on the county-owned property.

Linda Jonas of West Bend said she is more than upset about the proposed move.

“I’m really unhappy. I don’t think the city needs the extra money. I think it’s a political stunt, and I think it’s terrible to take this away from all of these wonderful people that have been here for years and years and years,” Jonas said. “With the way the world is right now, a place like this is a sanctuary, and it shows that West Bend doesn’t give a shit about their community at all. All they care about is the bottom line, the almighty dollar.”

Monika Lippert of Jackson is retired and recently secured a plot. She plants asparagus, lettuce, chard, and geraniums that blossomed bigger than expected. She said relocating the garden would be hard because of the work individual gardeners have invested in their plots.

“Relocation is very difficult because of the amount of work that goes into preparing an area like this,” Lippert said. “Each of the individual gardeners have brought a lot of their own personal items into it to make it their own personal little backyard.

“Many of them have done all the work to prepare the soil to make it amenable to growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, whatever,” she said. “If you started something like that in a whole other area, all of that work would have to be started from scratch.”

Lippert said the thing about the garden, is it has become an important part of the lives of the people who use it.

“This is a long-term investment. I think Mary’s (Mary Reilley-Kliss) been at it for about 20 years. So, yeah, it takes a lot of time to get something like this going,” she said.

Lippert said she understands the county may try to provide another location, but believes the current site is particularly valuable because of its location.

“The idea of moving it is really, really hard,” she said. “This location is great because it is so close to downtown, and it is right near apartments. It’s right across from this big facility, and it’s also just down the road from the baseball diamonds.

Jonas said she does not believe the garden should be sacrificed for development.

“When the almighty dollar takes precedent over a bunch of old people that like to garden, that is really terrible,” Jonas said.

Mary Reilly-Kliss, coordinator of the Washington County Community Garden, said the garden has had an impact far beyond the people who maintain individual plots.

“We have built a community,” Reilly-Kliss said. “No matter who you are or what your beliefs are, we garden, share produce and garden frustrations, laugh, and indeed—sometimes cry together.”

Reilly-Kliss said the garden typically produces more than 8,000 pounds of food annually, with an estimated value of more than $34,000. Gardeners also donate food to local pantries and agencies, with estimated donations of 200 to 300 pounds annually.

The garden is operated entirely by volunteers. Reilly-Kliss estimates the gardeners collectively contribute about 300 volunteer hours each year, with an estimated economic value of more than $10,000.

Over the garden’s 19 years, she estimates its economic impact at approximately $500,000. About 4,000 people have gardened at the site over the years, either individually or as part of families or organizations.

Reilly-Kliss said the potential move could be especially difficult for gardeners who have established friendships and connections at the site.

“They would lose the connections and friendships built up over 19 years, to say nothing of well-amended gardening soil,” she said. “For some people, building relationships is difficult, and the loss of the WCCG in its present location would be life changing in a negative way.”

Reilly-Kliss acknowledged the county’s plan to spend $100,000 to create a new garden, but said there are questions about whether that amount will be enough to recreate what exists today.

“We appreciate the plan to spend $100,000 to create a new garden,” she said. “However, what if that ends up not being enough money after all?”

Reilly-Kliss said she hopes the County Executive Committee will reconsider its decision and leave the garden at its current location.

“I urge you and the Board to take another look at the plan and follow the initial recommendation to leave the WCCG in place as is, a long-standing asset to the Water Street neighborhood and to the community as a whole,” she said.

Deb Sielski is Washington County Community Development director. She said the potential relocation of the garden has been discussed for more than a year.

“There was an advisory task force last year that had developed a concept plan where the community garden had stayed,” Sielski said. The plan was presented to the County Executive Committee late last year.

Since then, the county has worked with an environmental firm to examine utilities, layout, grading and elevations for the proposed development. While the homeless shelter on the block and little league fields will stay, Sielski said the county will explore an option for relocating the garden and has encouraged garden representatives to consider other possibilities as well.

The proposed development on the garden site would include single-family homes on the county property. Sielski said the concept plan has not yet gone before the city Plan Commission for approval.

“This is still in the beginning stages,” she said. “We haven’t moved forward with the actual approvals needed at the city.”

Although the property is owned by Washington County, the development must go through the city’s regular approval process because it is located within the city.

Sielski said the proposed homes would be single-family residences similar to those already located west of the property.

The timing and final location of a relocated community garden have not yet been determined.