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JFC approves $10K settlement, juvenile treatment center expansion

JFC approves $10K settlement, juvenile treatment center expansion

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The Joint Committee on Finance on Thursday approved a $10,000 settlement in a lawsuit over improper dredging and an expansion project for a Madison juvenile-treatment center.

At a meeting at the state Capitol, lawmakers unanimously approved a Department of Justice settlement in State of Wisconsin v. Leslie Reinhold and Pinehill Revocable Trust. At issue in the case is Reinhold’s decision to dredge a tributary without a permit and put the dredged material into a wetland. The total proposed monetary penalty is $10,000 and there would be about $7,200 in forfeitures. Reinhold will also have to restore the damaged wetlands and stream using a restoration plan approved by the Department of Natural Resources.

Laws passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature during a lame-duck session in 2018 require Attorney General Josh Kaul to get permission from the JFC before settling lawsuits.

The JFC also unanimously adopted a request from the Department of Health Services to build a 50-bed addition to the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center. The project would allow the Madison center to house as many as 30 more boys and 20 girls. Its current capacity is 29 boys.

“This is a strong positive step toward closing Lincoln Hills,” said Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.

Gov. Tony Evers’ administration has authorized spending nearly $66 million on the project, but the DHS still needed approval from the JFC to begin construction.

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