Executive committee approves grants for four community development projects after Beaver Dam briefing

Nate Olson, Dodge County community development administrator, briefed the Executive Committee on the history and marketing work behind a large industrial site north of Beaver Dam and described county involvement dating to 2017. Olson said Alliant and private landowners worked on assembling an approximately 800‑acre project area near Highway 151 and Highway A; the area includes a Walmart distribution center and is adjacent to other industrial sites and a state‑certified business park.

Olson said the county helped scope marketing content for the site, including a 2021 promotional video, and that drone footage and coordination with local partners were used to attract site selectors. He described the site as triangular with Hemlock Road on the south and County W on the west, and noted existing employers nearby such as Generac and a Walmart distribution center.

Following that briefing, the committee considered recommendations from the county’s advisory committee on a community development grant program. The advisory committee had reviewed four applications — Beaver Dam, Fox Lake, Watertown and Waupun — and recommended awarding the requested dollars to all four projects.

Supervisors moved and approved the advisory committee’s recommendations by individual votes. For Beaver Dam, Supervisor Beal moved approval and Supervisor Steger seconded the motion; the committee approved the recommendation. Supervisor Beal moved approval of Fox Lake (seconded by Supervisor Hedrick), Supervisor Hedrick moved approval of Watertown (seconded by Supervisor Conway), and Supervisor Stager moved approval of Waupun (seconded by Supervisor Guchenberger); each motion carried. Committee members stressed that awards are subject to formal grant agreements and developer agreements, and staff said the grant contract template is modeled on the county’s ARPA agreements and is currently written as reimbursement‑only, though the committee discussed provisions to allow limited upfront payments and to include timelines and clawback conditions.

Discussion at the meeting noted that portions of some projects lie in tax increment financing (TIF/TID) districts, which delays property‑tax revenue to the county until the TIF closes. One supervisor warned that the county might not reap property‑tax benefits until TIF expiration; Olson and others noted that accelerating TIF closeout is a possible benefit in some proposals and that non‑financial returns — such as increased housing supply and workforce access — were an important part of evaluation.

Committee members and staff discussed program safeguards: the county will require developer/grant agreements with milestone reporting and potential clawbacks if projects do not meet agreed timelines; staff will return with final grant agreements and requested that the committee review those documents before funds are released. No grant dollars were disbursed at the meeting; the committee authorized awards subject to the agreement process.

Olson also updated the committee on a separate program: a Dodge County Career Exploration Internship grant selected three high‑school interns (from Lamar, Horicon and Dodgeland) for an eight‑week rotational internship across nine departments; interns will present to the committee in August.

The committee’s approvals move the four community development projects into the grant‑agreement phase, where final terms, timelines and payment structures will be negotiated and documented.