Fremont applies for state development grant
By Angie Landsverk
The plan to redevelop the former Channel Cats Bar and Restaurant property is taking another step forward.
Fremont’s village board voted 4-0 on Dec. 17, to sign a contract with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) related to the project.
The vote took place during a special meeting. It was the only item on the agenda.
Jim Falke, John Kohl and Steve Van Lyssel were absent.
Last August, the board voted to apply for WEDC’s Community Development Investment Grant program.
The grant being sought supports urban, small city and rural community development efforts.
It provides financial incentives for shovel-ready projects, emphasizing downtown, community-driven efforts.
The village is seeking a $155,000 grant in collaboration with Friends of Fremont.
Friends of Fremont is the limited liability company that bought the former Channel Cats property last year and has plans to redevelop it.
Proposed uses for the space on Wolf River Drive include a banquet hall and gathering space, small retail storefronts, bathrooms and showers, public docks, outdoor seating, sunshades and yard games.
The grant needs to be approved by WEDC’s Management Review Committee.
If the grant is awarded, it will be to the village.
Friends of Fremont then needs to secure $465,000 in non-WEDC funds to meet the match requirements, according to Village Clerk Michelle McClone.
Once the project is complete, Friends of Fremont then has to provide all its invoices to the village, she said.
Those invoices have to be reconciled and sent to the state before Friends of Fremont receives the $155,000 grant in one payment, McClone explained.
Contract discussed
The contract with WEDC was the subject of a lengthy discussion when the board met on Dec. 10.
Village officials wondered if there were any risks associated with signing the contract.
“This is a standard agreement,” Dave Thiel told the board.
He is the executive director of the Waupaca County Economic Development Corporation.
Thiel said the village would be the recipient of the grant, and Friends of Fremont would be the developer.
“If you don’t think you have the proper paperwork … don’t submit the pay request,” he said. “You’re totally protected.”
Thiel also said he is willing to help McClone with the contract.
“They (Friends of Fremont) have to spend the money and then get reimbursed,” he said. “I don’t see this any other way (than) as a huge win-win for the community.”
Thiel said the program is about being a “conduit to bring money in, money specifically to help small towns develop.”
He would be “happy to participate in the process and make sure they (Friends of Fremont) do everything they need to do to satisfy WEDC.”
Bob Schnettler attended the meeting and spoke on behalf of Friends of Fremont.
“In the application, we had to break down all the different areas,” he said. “Most of this is going through Keller. It will not be an in-depth process. When we turn it all in at the end, it will all be there.”
Friends of Fremont would have until the end of 2021 to complete its project, Thiel said.
He said the WEDC program covers the entire state, and the contract’s language is meant to cover every possible scenario.
“You are members of the (county) corporation,” Thiel said. “Please reach out to me at any time, and I will help.”