Waunakee approves TIF grant for 101 East Main Street after owner and consultant detail needed repairs

The Village of Waunakee board on the night of the meeting approved a developer agreement to provide Tax Increment District (TID) assistance for repairs at 101 East Main Street, a historic downtown building, and amended the agreement to extend a resale repayment requirement from five years to 10 years.

The agreement covers work already completed to address immediate roofing and masonry hazards and identifies additional deferred-maintenance projects to keep the building viable, village staff said. The board approved a motion that included language “true[ing] up the timing in section 7” to change the developer repayment period from five years to 10 years.

Why it matters: The building at 101 East Main Street is one of the village’s older downtown properties and trustees described the grant as an investment in preserving the downtown commercial fabric. The project combined reimbursement for emergency repairs already completed with an allowance for future eligible work that is listed in the TID project plan.

Owner Jen Sluca, who purchased the property and operates her business there, told the board she and her husband did not initially anticipate the full cost and complexity of restoring the building. “We bought this building and we named it Avex Property because our kids’ names are Avery and Alex,” Sluca said, adding that the process of preparing the TIF request and working with Ehlers had helped shape a funding number that she hopes reduces the chance she will need future requests.

Shane Redling of Ehlers, the municipal financial consultant, told trustees the analysis used a 10-year horizon for assessing the eligible scope and cost of improvements. “When we do the analysis, we look at a 10-year time horizon,” Redling said during the meeting. That horizon factored into the board’s decision to align the agreement’s recovery and repayment timeline.

Trustees voiced support for the owner’s outreach and transparency. Trustee Robert McPherson said he appreciated that Sluca invited trustees to inspect the building and described the property as an important downtown structure whose deferred maintenance created a public-safety hazard. Trustee Tricia Brown and several others said they supported the proposal after staff and consultants reviewed the documentation and the applicant’s engagement with the process.

Trustee Nyla Fry asked why the agreement initially had a five-year repayment/clawback term and whether a 10-year term would have deterred the owner. Sluca responded that she has no intent to sell and that a 10-year period would not have prevented her from accepting the assistance.

Before the vote a staff member noted a typographical error in the packet (a year listed as 2015 instead of 2025); trustees confirmed that correction was clerical only. A motion to approve the developer agreement for a TID 8 development grant request with the amendment changing the repayment/clawback period to 10 years passed by voice vote.

The board also discussed that certain improvements must be identified by 2034 under the TID timeline used in the analysis; the record shows the parties referenced a 10-year improvement horizon during the discussion. The motion passed and trustees said the work should help retain the historic downtown building for long-term use.

Ending: The owner thanked trustees for their support and for staff and consultant assistance; the board carried the motion and moved on to the next agenda items.