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DOJ fines Radtke Contractors for work on Wolf River condo project (UPDATE)

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//April 20, 2011//

DOJ fines Radtke Contractors for work on Wolf River condo project (UPDATE)

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//April 20, 2011//

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By Jack Zemlicka

Winneconne-based Radtke Contractors Inc. will pay $15,000 in penalties for placing unpermitted structures in the Wolf River during a condominium construction project in Fremont.

The company agreed to pay the fines rather than challenge the penalties but denied any wrongdoing, said Charles Sweeney, Radtke’s attorney.

“There was no admission of liability from either party as part of the settlement,” he said.

Radtke owner Tom Radtke did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

According to a complaint filed by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Radtke, starting in 2006, constructed and placed one pier, seven boat lifts and five permanent boat shelters not authorized by a permit.

Sweeney said Radtke had received the proper permits in 2003.

But according to the complaint, the state argued the construction of the pier, lifts and shelters did not match the proposed plan authorized by the Department of Natural Resources. For instance, according to the complaint, Radtke proposed one 20-foot pier but lengthened it to 40 feet in the contract with project owner G&G River Investments to accommodate a larger boat lift.

According to the complaint, DNR staff members worked with Radtke to develop a permit for piers at the Fremont property that generally would protect the Wolf River shoreline and specifically protect the habitat of 15 mussel species.

A separate lawsuit filed by the state against G&G is ongoing.

The construction resulted in a footprint increase of 300 percent over what was permitted, according to the complaint.

Beyond the settlement, Sweeney said, Radtke has offered to remove the structures.

“If someone told them to take the pier out,” he said, “they would do that as a good contractor.”

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