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Verona council declines amendment to Sugar Creek Commons TID #9 after closed-session talks
Summary
After a closed session, the Verona Common Council voted not to amend the Sugar Creek Commons tax-increment district No. 9 agreement. Council members said they would consider paying verified remediation costs but rejected changing the agreement’s broader terms without full justification.
VERONA, Wis. — The Verona Common Council voted Jan. 26 not to amend the development agreement for the Sugar Creek Commons Tax Incremental District No. 9, deciding after closed-session negotiations to hold the existing agreement in place.
Connor Kearney of Forward Development Group, representing Sugar Creek Commons LLC, told the council during public comment that TIF enabled environmental remediation and public improvements and that the original public-private partnership produced “housing opportunities” and corridor-wide redevelopment. He acknowledged the project’s original hotel component was not built and asked the city for “the collaborative opportunity to work with staff regarding a fair and equitable resolution” rather than a total elimination of TIF proceeds.
Council members debated whether the developer’s missed milestones — including public improvements and the hotel promised in the 2021 agreement — required withholding payments. The mayor and several Alders argued the city’s primary community benefit from the project was the environmental cleanup and that verified remediation costs could be a defensible payment, while others said failing to meet contract terms should foreclose additional TIF disbursements.
City attorney counsel summarized council discretion, noting the original agreement (executed in March 2021) required site improvements and environmental remediation by specified dates that were not met. The mayor said the city “should pay TIF for the environmental cleanup because that is one thing they promised” and that the council could verify invoices with the Wisconsin DNR.
After a closed-session negotiation under Wisconsin Statute 19.85(1)(e), the council reconvened and Alder Tucker Long moved that the council not amend the development agreement for Sugar Creek Commons TID No. 9. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
The council did not detail financial tabulations in open session. Council members indicated a willingness to consider discrete, documented remediation costs — subject to verification with the DNR and supporting invoices — but declined broader changes to the TIF payout formula or schedule without further justification.
Next steps: staff and council members said any future changes would require formal negotiation and likely further closed-session deliberations before public action.
