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Rothschild board consents to PFA conduit financing for BBL Creske LLC redevelopment and holds closed session on property negotiations
Summary
The Village approved Resolution 2025-05 consenting to Public Finance Authority taxable revenue bonds for a BBL Creske, LLC redevelopment project (downtown Wausau renovations and a Rothschild hotel conversion); the board then entered closed session under Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(e) to discuss property negotiations and reconvened to authorize the administrator to proceed.
The Village of Rothschild Board on July 14 approved Resolution 2025-05, consenting to the Public Finance Authority’s issuance of taxable revenue bonds for a BBL Creske, LLC redevelopment project and then recessed to closed session to deliberate property negotiations.
Administrator Ryan VanDeWalle summarized the request and said the financing would be conduit PFA bonds that would not be obligations of the City, the Village, or the County and would not count against local borrowing capacity. VanDeWalle said he and Finance Director Melanie Wiskow consulted with the Village’s financial advisor, Baird, which expressed no concerns about the conduit approach. Attorney Lynda Templen representing BBL Creske, LLC gave a brief background on the resolution. On a motion by Trustee Deb Ehster, seconded by Trustee Paul Kennedy, the board approved Resolution 2025-05 (motion carried 6:0).
VanDeWalle described the project summary presented to the board: a multi-asset downtown Wausau redevelopment (retail, small office space and approximately nine new multi-family units in one building) and a Rothschild property to be redeveloped and rebranded as bantr - DoubleTree by Hilton, converting the existing water-park element into a convention center and renovating units into a 139-room hotel. The meeting record also noted refinancing and redevelopment of the existing property and additional retail and service tenants as part of the broader project.
Following the PFA consent, the board moved into a closed session at 7:12 p.m. under Wisconsin Statutes Section 19.85(1)(e) to deliberate or negotiate the purchase or sale of public property; the roll call vote recorded unanimous ayes by Trustees Louella Luedtke, Deb Ehster, Paul Kennedy, Sam Stroik, Jason Jablonski and Village President Dan Helgeson. The board reconvened in open session at 7:40 p.m. (motion to reconvene recorded as 7:0). The board then approved a motion to allow the Administrator to move forward with items discussed in closed session (motion carried 6:0).
The PFA resolution passed in concept at the July 14 meeting; the authorization to proceed after closed session gives the administrator direction to continue negotiations or follow-up tasks that were discussed in closed session. The resolution and subsequent votes do not create Village obligations on the bonds, per the PFA summary presented to the board.
