Council votes for developer’s agreement
By Angie Landsverk
Construction of a 10,625-square-foot building may now begin in Waupaca’s Business and Technology Park.
That is after the common council voted 10-0 on April 16 to approve a developer’s agreement with Ken Dugenske.
Dugenske owns Wood Renovators.
“We renovate church interiors,” he told the council. “We travel throughout the country.”
They bring church pews and other wood furnishings here to renovate them.
As part of the agreement, the city is providing an approximately 3-acre parcel to Dugenske at no cost.
In turn, he guarantees a minimum total value of $500,000 (land and building) for the entire term of the agreement, which is through 2040.
Dugenske also agrees to complete the building by the end of the year.
Otherwise, he has to pay the city $45,000 by Jan. 15, 2020.
That is the city’s estimate of the property’s value, based on past land sale agreement with developers and average assessments for similar projects in the park.
The property is on South Industrial Drive, in Tax Increment District (TID) No. 3.
Dugenske previously operated a facility in the city, but vacated the building in 2010 due to foreclosure.
He currently leases two facilities outside the city and wants to consolidate them in one location.
Dugenske approached the city about his desire to buy property in the Business and Technology Park.
His plan includes a 625-square-foot office and 10,000-square-foot workshop.
“This is the last step in the process,” City Administrator Henry Veleker told the council.
The Plan Commission approved the site plan a week earlier, and also recommended approval of a two-lot Certified Survey Map related to the property.
The Certified Survey Map split an approximately 6-acre parcel into two lots, with the city retaining one of the lots, Veleker explained.
The council also approved the Certified Survey Map.
In a memo to Mayor Brian Smith and the common council, Brennan Kane explained what incentives the city was able to offer for this project.
Kane is the city’s former director of community and economic development.
The expenditure period for incentives and capital projects in TID 3 expired at the end of 2018, he said.
“The state of Wisconsin does not permit financial expenditures within the last five years of the life expectancy of any TID,” Kane wrote. “The city’s Finance Department is seeking to close the TID early in 2020/2021 as the remaining debt will be paid off.”
He said the only incentive the city may provide is to reduce the land cost, which is typically $30,000 per acre, or provide land for free to potential developers.
Dugenske asked the city to provide the land at no cost to him.
“Ken, welcome and good luck to you,” Smith said.