IDC Minutes

Minutes of the Industrial Development Commission meeting held on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at City Hall pursuant to notice duly given.

1) Meeting called to order at 8:00 a.m. by Chairperson Doeren
2) Roll Call: Dick Doeren, Joe Stiloski, Wayne Bostwick and Ken DePouw. Excused: Mike Trepanier. Absent: Vernon Panske and Howard Schaden. Also present: Jack Maas and Tom Fulton, advisory members, Mayor Nerenhausen and Carol Stewart as recording secretary.
3) Moved by Stiloski second by Fulton to move agenda Item 7 before Item 6.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 4 ayes
4) Moved by Stiloski second by Bostwick to approve minutes from the 09/30/09 meeting.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 4 ayes
5) No Correspondence or Public Input.
7) Discussion/possible recommendation/action on:
a. No action on RLF #05-02.
b. No action on memo response from Suring, Gillett and Oconto Falls.
c. Doeren distributed aerial photos of properties both city-owned and private…would like to show Dale Mohr what we have;
(No photos were submitted to the clerk to place in meeting file)
d. Doeren stated he was supposed to meet with someone from Creative Signs, but he never showed;
e. New North Summit agenda was passed out to members; Doeren stated he plans on attending…Maas stated he would like to attend also;
6) Dale Mohr , Community Resources Educator with University Wisconsin Cooperative Extension arrived at 8:25 a.m. Mohr stated this would be a fact finding session to talk about needs; Doeren explained to Mohr that the city has quite a bit of property, including former Kelly Pickle property…shared aerial photos with Mohr; Mayor described the properties to Mohr who questioned if the city owned these; Mayor stated we own Kelly Pickle but could acquire the other properties, they are available; Doeren stated we can work with current owners to market their properties for developing; Mohr questioned if the city wants to take on the role of marketing; Doeren stated “yes”…Maas stated “no” that we are not into marketing, just selling; Doeren stated that’s what marketing is; Stiloski questioned Mohr about his contacts; Mohr stated he is not into marketing…questioned what was wanted out of the properties…what is expected from seller…tourism or a service to the community? Doeren asked for Mohr’s insight as to possibilities that we are not seeing; Mohr questioned if there was any idea what property is valued at…what is compatible for that property…clearer idea of marketing scenarios if the value is known…professionals out there that can help develop those scenarios; Doeren stated if we go to a developer they will just come in and do what they want…maybe it wasn’t presented right; Maas stated we have to take a look at what we want and give to the people who can help; Doeren stated nobody wants to touch Oconto because of the past issues; Maas stated we can overcome that; Stiloski stated it is based on economic conditions…not conducive to develop; Doeren stated we were offered $70,000 an acre; Mohr stated property owners need to know upfront what the plan is…what are our options…nice properties, some with highway access…Kelly property has a lot of potential with size of it; Mohr questioned what investments are we willing to give up or take…if developer knows beforehand the expectations and he gets shot down because of not meeting requirements, then it takes Oconto out as moving target and won’t have the reputation for being difficult to work with; Maas questioned if we may have a place for some kind of manufacturing; Mohr stated that there are a lot of aspects with the fiberglass industry and we have skilled workers here because of the boat manufacturing industry; Bostwick questioned what Kelly Pickle property was zoned at? Maas stated Highway Commercial; Mohr stated that the property is a doorway to the community… maybe build something yourselves and have others build around it…goes back to what you really want to get out of your investment; Maas suggested we look at 3 or 4 ideas, pinpoint those as what we should go after; Fulton stated we seem to know what we don’t want…strong feelings in community as to how things will or won’t mesh; Doeren stated general populous really wants something…overwhelming support for Walgreen’s but a handful of individuals did not want and was voted against; Mohr stated it has to be decided how you’re going to sell property so business will know exactly what they are getting into…decide beforehand what you won’t accept; DePouw stated the property should be sold as one parcel…let developer put in whatever meets zoning…should not be steered by minorities in town who have there own ideas, but what is best for the entire community; Fulton agreed politics have to come out of it; DePouw stated we need to list property…may have to bite the bullet and take a loss…we’ve been beating our heads, time to get rid of it; Maas stated the only way to know is to put it out there and try it…present it to Council; DePouw suggested having Mohr return for next meeting and when presented to Council; Mohr agreed to attend meetings; Commission thanked Mohr for his input and insight;
Next meeting will be held on Thursday, November 19, 2009 with same agenda
items and Dale Mohr scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
9) Moved by Stiloski second by DePouw to adjourn meeting at 9:30 a.m. M/C


Minutes submitted by:
Carol F. Stewart
Deputy/Clerk Treasurer