Citizen raises questions on Wineburner Shoe Company redevelopment as council moves to closed-session TIF negotiations

Bill Penker, a resident of Marshfield, used the public-comment period on June 24 to ask the Common Council to step back and ask detailed questions about an early redevelopment concept for the city-owned Wineburner Shoe Company building after a local news article described the idea and suggested the city might transfer the property at low or no cost.

Penker asked where predevelopment costs would be borne, when any low- or no-cost transfer and city-paid fees would be returned to the city through property taxes, and how the concept fits into the city’s strategic planning and downtown development documents, including the economic development action plan prepared by Redevelopment Resources, the 2021 Downtown Marshfield strategic plan (commissioned by Main Street Marshfield) and the housing section of the comprehensive plan scheduled for review in February 2024. “This is not a project with 1 dimension. It is a project with multiple dimensions, and I hope others come forward with probing questions so we can have the best redevelopment of that property,” he said.

Later in the meeting, the council moved into closed session under Wisconsin Statutes §19.85(1)(e) to deliberate and negotiate over a letter of intent related to a development project in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District No. 13 and to consider granting an exclusive right to negotiate with Winegarner Development. The motion to adjourn to closed session was moved by Alderman Douglas and seconded by Alderman Varsho; council members voted to enter closed session.

No formal public action on property transfer or disposition was taken in open session, and the closed-session agenda item indicates negotiations and a letter of intent were the matters for deliberation. The council did not disclose outcomes of that closed session on the meeting record available in the transcript.