The Solberg Lake Expansion: ARPA Funds, Board Approval, and

The Solberg Lake Expansion: ARPA Funds, Board Approval, and What Jason Hastings Got Wrong (and Right)

A former supervisor called the Solberg Lake campground project a scheme with no board approval that misused COVID relief funds. The official records tell a more complicated story. Read more Price County stories from across the web.

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When Jason Hastings resigned from the Price County Board of Supervisors on April 22, 2026, he named the Solberg Lake project as one of his reasons. In his resignation letter, he described it as a scheme that “had no board approval in different ways” and accused the county of “misusing the ARPA funds” for the expansion.

The board minutes tell a different story, but not a simple one.

What the Records Show

On February 20, 2024, the Price County Board of Supervisors met for its regular meeting. Under the Forestry and Parks committee report, the minutes record: “Gave go ahead to proceed with engineering for Steves Creek Dam project. Funding approved for Solberg Lake Park campground expansion.”

On February 22, 2024, the Price County Land Use Committee approved a conditional use permit for the Price County Forestry Department to expand the Solberg Lake County Park campground on West Solberg Lake Road in the Town of Worcester, according to the Price County Review.

These are documented, on-the-record approvals. Hastings’ claim of “no board approval” is, at minimum, an overstatement. The board did approve funding. The Land Use Committee did approve the permit.

But Hastings qualified his claim. He said the project had “no board approval in different ways.” That qualification matters. It suggests he was not claiming the board never voted on any aspect of the project, but rather that certain decisions, spending allocations, or process steps bypassed proper board oversight.

The ARPA Question

This is where the claim gets more interesting. The Forestry and Parks Committee approved a resolution to request $650,000 in ARPA funding for the Solberg Lake County Park and Smith Lake County Park expansion.

ARPA, the American Rescue Plan Act, was federal COVID-relief legislation. The funds distributed to local governments were supposed to address pandemic impacts. Using $650,000 of COVID-relief money to expand a county campground is a legitimate target for public scrutiny, even if it is technically permissible under ARPA’s broad infrastructure and economic development provisions.

The February 2024 board minutes also note an “Update on ARPA funding for local ADA playgrounds” under the Health and Human Services report. ARPA funds were being used for playgrounds and campground expansion in Price County, not just for direct COVID relief to individuals and businesses.

Hastings’ characterization of this as “misuse” is a policy judgment, not a factual claim. Whether ARPA funds should have been spent on campground expansion is something reasonable people can disagree about. But the fact that $650,000 in federal COVID-relief money went to a campground project rather than to direct assistance for county residents is accurate and newsworthy.

The Project Itself

The Solberg Lake expansion adds approximately 40 new campsites across the road from the existing 60-site campground. The new sites offer full water, sewer, and electric hookups plus Wi-Fi. The existing campground has about 20 lakeside sites.

The project has been discussed in committee meetings throughout 2024 and 2025. December 2024 Forestry and Parks minutes note that Price Electric approved the electrical plan and septic work had progressed. February 2025 minutes note multiple parties requesting bid packets for the project.

The Water Quality Angle

Community members have raised concerns about Solberg Lake’s water quality. Facebook posts in the “Price County Past and Present” group, titled “The Solberg Lake Hypocrisy,” claim the EPA classifies the lake as “toxic” with algae beach closures.

Solberg Lake is an 859-acre impoundment with a maximum depth of 16 feet and an average depth of 7 feet. Shallow Wisconsin lakes are susceptible to cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms, particularly during warm months. Whether the EPA specifically classifies the lake as “toxic” or whether this refers to Wisconsin DNR advisories needs verification from DNR records.

If the county is investing $650,000 in expanding a campground on a lake that experiences periodic toxic algae blooms, that is a public health and fiscal accountability question worth asking.

The View Count Clue

The Forestry and Parks committee meeting from April 7, 2026 has 526 views on YouTube. That is by far the highest view count of any county committee meeting video. For context, most committee meetings get 20 to 50 views. County board meetings typically get 100 to 400 views.

A Forestry and Parks committee meeting getting 526 views suggests significant public interest in what this committee is doing. Whether that interest is about Solberg Lake, carbon credits, timber sales, or some other matter is worth investigating. But the number indicates that county residents are paying attention to Forestry and Parks in a way they are not paying attention to other committees.

The Timeline Problem

ARPA funds had a December 31, 2024 obligation deadline. The county was under pressure to commit ARPA funds before that deadline or risk losing them. This deadline may explain why the Solberg Lake expansion moved forward when it did. The county had money that had to be spent by a certain date, and the campground expansion was a project ready to receive it.

But a spending deadline is not a good reason to spend money on a project that has not been adequately vetted. If the county rushed the Solberg Lake expansion to meet an ARPA deadline, that is a process problem even if the approvals were technically in order.

What Hastings Got Wrong and Right

Wrong: The blanket claim of “no board approval.” The February 2024 minutes explicitly record board approval of funding for the expansion.

Right to question: The use of $650,000 in COVID-relief funds for a campground expansion instead of direct assistance to residents. Whether this constitutes “misuse” depends on your definition, but the question is legitimate.

Right to question: Whether the ARPA spending deadline pressured the county into committing funds to a project that might not have been the highest priority use of federal relief money.

Unanswered: What Hastings meant by “no board approval in different ways.” This suggests specific process steps he believed were bypassed. Those specifics matter, and they have not been publicly explained by either Hastings or the board.

What the Board Should Address

1. Publish a full accounting of ARPA fund allocations in Price County. How much was received, how much has been spent, and on what specific projects?
2. Explain the decision-making process for allocating ARPA funds to the Solberg Lake expansion rather than other uses.
3. Address the water quality concerns. Has the county reviewed DNR advisories for Solberg Lake in connection with the campground expansion?
4. Respond to Hastings’ specific claim about process irregularities, not just the general claim about board approval.

Timber Revenue Shortfall Compounds ARPA Concerns (July 8, 2026)

Last updated: July 8, 2026

The ARPA funds depletion concern highlighted in this article has gained a new dimension. At the July 7, 2026 Forestry and Parks Committee meeting, officials reported that timber sales are running well below projection for the year — and the county will not hit its timber revenue target.

The reason is straightforward: markets are slow. Mills are not taking wood. Loggers cannot move product. Four active timber sales are currently running, but with the market downturn, those sales are generating far less revenue than budgeted. Loggers are frustrated, and forestry department revenue is down.

This matters in the context of the ARPA story because timber revenue and ARPA funds both feed the same county budget. With ARPA funds now expired — the December 2024 obligation deadline has passed — the county was counting on timber revenue to help fill the gap. Instead, that revenue stream is shrinking too.

The dual pressure is clear. On one side, federal COVID-relief money that propped up capital projects like the Solberg Lake expansion is gone. On the other, the timber market that historically supports county operations is in a downturn. The Forestry and Parks Committee did not indicate whether any budget adjustments or spending freezes are being considered.

The 526-view April meeting that drew so much public attention to this committee now looks prescient. Residents who were watching Forestry and Parks back in April — when the ARPA questions and carbon credit discussions were making headlines — were right to be paying attention. The budget squeeze they may have suspected is now showing up in the timber numbers.

This is a developing story. We will continue tracking timber sale performance, forestry revenue, and any county budget responses in upcoming coverage.

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*This article is part of an ongoing investigative series by Northwoods Explorer covering Price County governance, transparency, and accountability. Related coverage: The Hastings Resignation, Bug Tussel Broadband, U.T.A.V. Proposal Analysis.*

Sources: Price County Board of Supervisors meeting minutes (Feb 20, 2024; Feb 17, 2026), Price County Land Use Committee (Feb 22, 2024), Price County Forestry and Parks committee minutes (Dec 2024; Feb 2025), Price County Review, Jason Hastings resignation letter (public document), Price County YouTube channel (@pricecountywigovernment).

Update, July 9, 2026: HHS Board Proactively Researches Health Impacts for Expected Asphalt Plant Reapplication

Last updated: July 9, 2026

At the July 8, 2026 Health and Human Services Board meeting, Supervisor Robert Copich asked Public Health’s Tiffany Pichek to research the public health impacts of asphalt plants. The request comes in direct anticipation of American Asphalt reapplying for a conditional use permit in the Town of Worcester — the same company that withdrew its application after a buried landfill was discovered on the proposed site.

Supervisor Copich was blunt about the company’s plans: “It’s going to come back.” While American Asphalt pulled its CUP application, the withdrawal was strategic, not permanent. Copich indicated the reapplication could come within roughly a year.

The public health research request is a significant development — but it is not a veto. Here is what it can and cannot do:

The research cannot override the existing CUP. The Land Use Committee already approved the gravel pit conditional use permit 4-1. Wisconsin Act 67 limits county power to deny extractive use permits when applications meet statutory criteria. A public health study does not undo that vote.
It can inform the county’s response when American Asphalt submits a new application for the asphalt plant portion of the operation.
It can provide a health-based rationale for conditions attached to any new conditional use permit — dust mitigation, air monitoring, setback requirements, operating hours, noise limits.
It gives supervisors a documented, evidence-based reason to vote no on a new application if the health data supports it.
It builds a public record that could support a denial in court if American Asphalt challenges a rejection.

In other words, the HHS Board is not trying to relitigate the past. It is preparing for the next round.

The withdrawal gave the county something it did not have before: time. When American Asphalt pulled its application, the immediate pressure was off. But that withdrawal also created a window — a chance for the county to build its health case before the company returns. Supervisor Copich’s request to Pollitchek is the first sign that the county is using that window deliberately rather than simply waiting.

This connects the Solberg Lake and ARPA story to the broader land use saga in Worcester. The same county board that approved ARPA funds for the Solberg Lake pavilion expansion — and is now watching timber revenue fall short — is also preparing for the next chapter of the gravel pit fight. The fiscal and land use threads are woven tighter than they appear.

For more on the Worcester gravel pit and asphalt plant story, see our coverage of the buried landfill discovery and American Asphalt’s withdrawal and the earlier CUP opposition coverage.

Sources: Price County Health and Human Services Board meeting (July 8, 2026).

Update July 18: Solberg Pavilion Success, Maintenance Needs Emerge

Last updated: July 18, 2026

The new Solberg Lake pavilion is drawing crowds. At the July 7 Forestry and Parks Committee meeting, a committee member reported that the Dunar family held their 27th consecutive annual reunion at the pavilion, drawing 80 people. Every electrical outlet was in use. Every table was taken. The construction drew praise as “an asset and a gem to Price County.”

The boat landing is seeing heavy use too. On June 27, the weekend before July 4th, every single parking spot had a trailer in it between noon and 2 p.m. The expansion is getting used.

But the new campground section has hit some bumps. A Class A motor home sank into sandy material in the new part of the campground. Crews performed shouldering work and leveling to address the issue. The final blacktop lift still has not gone in. It was scheduled for late June but got pushed back. When the blacktop work does happen, the county will likely need to close part of the new section temporarily.

Maintenance needs are also surfacing at Tims Hill Park, where the fishing pier is deteriorating. Some of the poles holding the pier have rusted off, and the wood needs replacement. A contractor will be brought in to assess that pavilion as well, which had its roof last shingled in 2003 with 20-year shingles.

At the courthouse, grounds crews renovated the landscaping, adding backfill against the foundation to stop basement water intrusion, laying new mulch, and replanting trees. The fountain at the Normal Building, which had not worked in years, is running again. The main electrical switch gear feeding the entire courthouse is “patched together working now,” with an RFP going out and a budget request expected. Fire extinguishers countywide were replaced rather than rebuilt at the six-year maintenance mark, which proved cheaper.

Sources: Price County Forestry and Parks Committee meeting (July 7, 2026).

Related Coverage

This investigation connects to our ongoing series:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lakes are in Price County?

Price County contains over 70 named lakes and numerous unnamed ponds and flowages. The largest include the Flambeau River flowages, Long Lake, and Butternut Lake, offering diverse recreational opportunities.

Are there public beaches in Price County?

Several public beaches are maintained at county and township parks, including beaches on Long Lake and the Phillips area lakes. Most have designated swimming areas, restrooms, and parking during summer.

Can you rent boats in Price County?

Boat rentals are available at resorts and marinas throughout the county, including fishing boats, pontoons, and kayaks. Most rental operations run from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

What are the clearest lakes in Price County?

Several lakes feature excellent water clarity, particularly spring-fed and deeper lakes. Long Lake and smaller deep lakes consistently score high on Wisconsin DNR water clarity tests.