Supervisor urges early renewal of Kemper Center lease to secure $2 million private investment

Supervisor Chelsea Balski urged the Kenosha County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday evening to renew the county’s lease with Kemper Center Inc. this year, saying an early renewal would unlock a $2,000,000 private investment and help the nonprofit secure accreditation and long-term financial stability.

Balski told the board that a county-commissioned independent assessment (referred to in the presentation as the Keane report) found the Kemper Center campus “is underutilized” and that the nonprofit “cannot achieve financial sustainability without significant partnership and operational change.” She said new leadership at Kemper Center has already begun implementing the report’s recommendations and that private partners are prepared to invest only if the county provides lease certainty now.

Balski outlined recent steps Kemper Center Inc. has taken to stabilize operations, including recruiting new board members and executive leadership, improving bookkeeping and financial practices, restoring fundraising and events, and hiring arts staff. She cited in-kind marketing and development assistance valued at about $114,000 from local marketing firm owner Gary Gronke in late 2024, renewed philanthropic support from founder Penny Palmer Enroth and the Palmer Foundation, and plans to relaunch year-round programming such as an indoor/outdoor farmers market beginning in 2026.

"Tonight I have just one clear ask, and that's renew Kemper Center's lease now," Balski said. She said Milwaukee venue owner Kate Crowley has offered to invest $2,000,000 of private capital in the Anderson Arts Center and grounds if Kemper Center’s board can negotiate from a renewed lease. Balski described components of the proposed private investment as a public cafe inside the art center, a glass outdoor atrium for up to 250 guests, restoration of the period garden, and upgrades to Anderson Art Center facilities.

Balski presented economic projections attributed to the presentation materials showing that 50 luxury weddings a year could bring an estimated 62,000 attendees to the campus over five years (44,000 from outside Kenosha) and produce an estimated nearly $25,000,000 in taxable local sales over five years; she said those figures would translate into roughly $7,900,000 in lodging revenue and about $635,000 in room-tax revenue for local tourism promotion, and roughly $1,900,000 in new sales tax revenues with about $115,000 flowing directly to Kenosha County. She said Kemper Center currently generates about $91,000 annually from lakefront art studios and Ambrose Hall rentals and that fundraising revenue declined nearly 49% from about $98,000 in 2018 to about $50,000 in 2024.

Balski said a facilities condition assessment shows large sections of the campus need repair and that the county has scheduled interior restoration of Kemper Chapel for 2026. She said accreditation for the Anderson Arts Center and Durkee Mansion is now feasible, but both accreditation and private donors require lease stability and long-term certainty.

The presentation did not include a formal vote. Balski told supervisors that Kemper Center’s board cannot in good faith begin negotiations with private investors until the county renews the nonprofit’s lease, and she asked the board to act this year to preserve momentum.

No member of the board moved or seconded a motion on the floor during the presentation; Balski offered to take questions after the meeting and provided handouts of the presentation and annual report.