Waunakee Joint Review Board reviews PE‑300 reports for TIDs 4–9; staff projects several early closures

The Waunakee Joint Review Board reviewed annual PE‑300 reports and forward‑looking cash‑flow projections for Tax Increment Districts 4 through 9 on Oct. 22, 2025.

Staff presenters said TID 4 (the Stokely site, which includes senior center and housing) will be reported as closed for this cycle: its expenditure period ended Dec. 2, 2024, and the district’s legal life ended April 7, 2025. Casey Griffiths, who prepared the updates and presented an abbreviated slide deck, said the final incremental value for TID 4 is $9,589,400 and the district closed 2024 with a fund balance of $47,285 after audited 2024 revenues of $112,009.21 and expenditures of $158,008.53, producing a 2024 deficit of about $45,009.32. Griffiths noted the village adopted a resolution to close the district as of April 7, 2025.

Renee (village staff) told the board the TID 4 closeout audit is in progress and expected to complete in 2025. Staff also said groundwater contamination and residual odors delayed an earlier closure; environmental engineers Ayers and Associates and village staff worked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to obtain closure of the residual issue.

On downtown TID 5, staff summarized the district’s long history of redevelopment and stabilization. The district was created Nov. 1, 2004; staff reported an incremental value in the most recent filing and a 2024 year‑end fund balance of about $395,007.53. Larry McCarron (participant) described earlier village property purchases, hazardous cleanup and use of a donor district (the former Arboretum Office Park District) to stabilize financing and support the 2014 Main Street reconstruction. Staff said projected closure calculations indicate the district’s cumulative fund balance could offset outstanding liabilities as soon as 2025, though that projection does not require immediate closure.

TID 6 (Kilkenny West area, created 07/20/2015) showed a decrease in incremental value from 2024 to 2025. Staff said the project plan was amended to add territory and project costs for the Kilkenny West area and reported planned commercial projects including an Aldi store and a car wash; nearby residential permits in Kilkenny East were cited as boosting commercial viability.

TID 7, a single‑site development incentive created in Feb. 2016, supports Renew Air’s relocation into a formerly vacant industrial building. Staff described that district as a PAYGO incentive to activate a vacant property; staff reported the district remains in a healthy financial position and Renew Air is operating successfully in the space it occupied.

A HubDI overlay district (presented as an overlay tied to Main Street redevelopment, creation Feb. 2018) includes recent projects such as Grace Coffee and the Lamp House mixed‑use housing. Staff noted the district’s projected closure year remains 2034 and emphasized that projected closure in the slides means the fund balance could cover outstanding liabilities at that time, not that the village must close the district then.

TID 9 (described in the presentation as the Asahi/Octopi expansion, created Feb. 2018 and amended Sept. 2023) showed an increase in incremental value of roughly $7.1 million from 2024 to 2025 and a year‑end positive fund balance in 2024. Staff corrected the company name in discussion to Asahi (which acquired Octopi in early 2024) and said Asahi has made substantial investments in non‑taxable equipment at the facility and has been expanding employment. Cash‑flow projections in the presentation show developer incentives beginning in 2025 but continued positive annual balances thereafter; staff said the projected closure year for the district moved earlier in the current report compared with last year’s forecast.

Staff also reminded the board that TID 10 was created in late 2023 but does not yet appear in annual reporting because a district cannot collect tax increment until the first year it is eligible (TID 10’s first increment year is 2026). Those parcels north of the Asahi facility in the business park will be added to future reports.

Board members and attendees, including Dr. Brown (school district superintendent), commented briefly on local growth and how tax‑increment activity can affect school enrollment and community development. After questions, staff closed the presentation and the board voted to acknowledge filing of the annual reports and compliance with annual meeting requirements.

The staff presentation and the board’s discussion emphasized the difference between a projected closure year (when cumulative balances could cover outstanding liabilities) and a formal board decision to terminate a district; staff noted audits, environmental remediation, and developer incentives as material factors affecting timing and balances.