Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional comments from city officials.
By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
In a news release issued Monday, Mayor Doug Diny cited the need for more careful spending in light of a “double-digit property tax increase for many residents” that resulted from a city-wide revaluation. The revaluation meant property values for many residents skyrocketed, sending shock waves through a community already concerned about rising water and sewer bills and city debt.
Last month the council voted 7-4 authorizing a request for proposals with an estimated budget of $100,000 for a consultant to aid in development plans. Alders Carol Lukens, Michael Martens, Tom Neal, Gary Gisselman, Lisa Rasmussen, Sarah Watson and Chad Henke voted in favor, while Alders Terry Kilian, Becky McElhaney, Victoria Tierney and Lou Larson voted against. The proposal had failed in a tie vote by members of the Economic Development Committee on May 9, but remained subject to full council consideration.
The veto is subject to council override at the group’s next meeting, said Council President Rasmussen, who called the action an “odd choice.”
“The [request for proposals] does not have a cost, and for someone whose stated goal is to grow Wausau it makes little sense to veto quotations when the selection of any planning firm would be a future choice, and one which has been budgeted for,” Rasmussen said.
Assistant City Planner Andrew Lynch, during a presentation last month to the council, said a consultant could help the city give a better idea about potential development opportunities in the area and could create efficiencies by identifying priorities. The area marked for redevelopment includes the former Wausau Chemical, Great Lakes Cheese and County Materials storage properties.
Rasmussen, in an email Monday to Wausau Pilot, continued to support the idea of hiring a consultant to aid in development plans.
“Any growth should begin with professional planning to avoid mistakes and to be able to plan for supportive infrastructure that operates on a 5-7 year plan to get locations identified for things so they can be worked into future plans and staff work,” Rasmussen said.
But in his release, the mayor flatly questioned whether the area should be a priority for the city.
“In 2011 the city purchased 16 acres along the east riverfront from MCDEVCO,” Diny. wrote. “Only about half of that land has been developed…we have no shortage of clean-and-green land.”
Filling those spaces, Diny said, should be the city’s priority.
“Do we need to do this now?” he wrote.
Diny also pointed to two additional reasons for the veto. One centers on costs on the horizon for Tax Increment District 3, which encompasses the north riverfront and has 7 years of life left. The other referred to the city’s commitment to address parking for Athletic Park and the Wausau Woodchucks.
Some city alders already had misgivings about the expense. Two newly-elected alders, Kilian and Tierney, at the May 9 committee meeting opposed hiring a consultant and said the city should wait until more is known about remediation requirements for the former Wausau Chemical parcel. The city’s staff have said that their engineering team is in touch with the Wisconsin Department for Natural Resources about the cleanup for the site, a process that could take between eight and 10 years.
Last month, Rasmussen said that the call for a master plan addresses economic development, one of the three priorities that alders identified during a recent retreat. She also said adding those parcels to the city’s tax base would be a welcome development.
But Kilian also said that during the same retreat that alders agreed that city spending is an issue for residents and is also one of the three urgent priorities identified.
