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Dear editor,

Embarrassment. Wausau Mall: What’s going on? Delay, delay, delay.

On Sept. 27, 2022 Mayor Katie Rosenberg presided over a packed house Common Council meeting where alders were told by WOZ supporters we needed to act immediately, WITHOUT DELAY, to save the mall project. Did Council get snookered again?

  • Is T. Wall going forward?
  • Are connecting streets going to happen now?
  • Are the mayor and WOZ still on the same page?
  • What’s all this delay costing the city?
  • How can taxpayers have confidence after listening to this tale for 3 1/2 years?
  • Does it feel like Ground Hog Day?

In the shadow of the Bull Falls Brewery dilemma, news comes that no construction will happen on the downtown mall site this year. Rather, the best we can hope for is that the current owners will do a better job of keeping the weeds trimmed than in the past. And now that the flatwork is nothing but rubble, it’s not even attractive to skaters.  

For projects like the brewery and the mall, delay is the first sign that the city’s development partners do not have the resources to fulfill their end of the bargain.  Every time developers say they need more time to pay, another ask for city dollars is around the corner.

Should city taxpayers be sitting on this powder keg? The city’s template for development agreements is flawed. Developer vetting has been an issue for years: the city gives away too much upfront and then rally forces to sell it to the council as a “good deal.”

If the city were to put up just 10% of project’s cost—just enough to make the reclamation of an otherwise blighted site comparable to one that is clean and green, developers would have to show money right away. Payback to the city would be small relative to the projects cash flow, and therefore, more certain to come.

Unfortunately, when the city over commits upwards of 30% of the costs and much of the city’s investment comes upfront, as it does with the mall, the risks are enormous. When the city’s stake is carrying the developer, any problems with the project’s cash flow get returned to the city.

It’s nut cutting time!  We selected the developer, the documentation is inked, it should be time to perform!  More delays are a bad sign.  Problems like this are going to continue to occur until we agree to bring in outside expertise to lend professional city management to the team.

Doug Diny, Wausau Alderman for Dist. 4