Damakant Jayshi
The Wausau City Council on Tuesday approved the auction sale of Bull Falls Brewery’s assets with the condition that proceeds must first go toward paying the debt owed to the city.
The council met in closed session to discuss the sale before reconvening in public to add the condition that proceeds would be allocated to the troubled brewery’s obligation to Wausau taxpayers. Both the amendment and the amended resolution passed 10-0. One alder was absent.
The brewery requested the approval.
Bull Falls Brewery, at 901 E. Thomas St., was founded in 2007 but struggled to keep up with its obligation to the city. The debt is part of a development agreement written in 2012 under the Jim Tipple administration.
The city’s developer agreement with Bull Falls secured financial assistance of $600,000, of which $400,000 was a loan to be repaid over 10 years with a two-year deferral and interest at 2.36%. Bull Falls bought additional abutting properties to expand, while Wausau vacated a street, relocated a sanitary manhole and upgraded 30 feet of water main at taxpayer expense.
Bull Falls represents a standalone tax increment district, TID 9, and owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city, struggling with loan payments even after the brewery’s monthly obligation was sharply adjusted.
As of May 1, the brewery was $15,170.68 behind on loan payments, according to City Attorney Anne Jacobson. Payoff of the outstanding balance as of May 1 was $281,461.71.
