Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Chetek's own "Area 51" (Jerome's old breeder farm on Knapp Street)

Nothing Top Secret about it

Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility located within the Nevada Test and Training Range. 

According to the CIA, the name Area 51 comes from its map designation. It was also previously referred to as "Paradise Ranch" in order to make the facility sound more attractive to those that would be working there. "Paradise Ranch" was then shortened to "the Ranch." Other nicknames include "Watertown" and "Dreamland."

Area 51” - that's what Planning Commission member Shawn Ayers of Ayers Tech refers tongue-in-cheek to the 39 acres at the end of Knapp Street that the city purchased from Hormel Foods in 2018. Unlike the Top Secret government facility in southwest Nevada, however, he does so not because our future plans for the property are on a “need-to-know” basis only; rather, it's because we don't know or can't seem to come to any consensus yet on the best way forward.

Council approved the purchase in summer of 2018
Using an outlay account we purchased this property in 2018 because according to Barron County Economic Development Executive Director Dave Armstrong we have a housing need. The way Dave put it at the time, “You want people to move to Chetek but they have no place to move to.” So, because the price was right - $150K including the manager's home on Knapp Street – and the location was good (right next to the high school/middle school) we bought it but with no clear plan how to develop it.

Since that time both the Council and the Plan Commission have had several meetings to kick the matter around. At the same time, we commissioned a housing study of the county that several other municipalities help fund. Last fall the results of that study were finally revealed at an all day “wrap-up” session at WITC and the long and short of it was Dave's prognosis was correct: we have a housing need. (To read the report for yourself you can go to the website of the City of Chetek or go to the link here: Chetek Housing Study)

The impasse among city council members comes down to how best to address that need. For a few, a “perfect world”-solution is a developer agrees to outright buy the property from us and undertake the project entirely. For the others,they feel that the City needs to have some “skin in the game” in order to attract a developer – or developers. That is, we put in the infrastructure (sewer, water and roads) to bring down the cost of future lots. There has also been considerable discussion as to whether to allow strictly homes and twin-homes (two homes side by side that share a common wall) or allow a variety of both homes and rentals.


Right before Thanksgiving both the Council and the Plan Commission sat down with Cody Filipczak of C&M Builders and Sean Bohan of Advanced Engineering Concepts for a Q&A session. Filipczak is the developer behind the Moon Lake Development in Rice Lake and Bohan is an engineer who has done work for the city before. For over an hour both were plied with all kinds of questions regarding the potential future development on Knapp Street. At the end of it, Flipiczak was asked point blank if he would be interested in taking on the “whole enchilada” to wit he replied: “No. But I would be interested in putting up a few spec homes and test the market.” In their professional opinion it would be unrealistic to expect any developer to take the entire project on. There's just too much risk. So, if I heard them right, if we want anyone to swim in our pool we're going to have to sweeten the water.


This will have to be engineered correctly
When we closed out TID #2 (Tax Increment District) at the end of 2018, we took advantage of the law that allowed us to keep the TID open one final year and take the money captured and use it for what the state refers to as “affordable housing”. (“Affordable housing” is not “low-income housing”. It is anything that helps or assists people to get into the housing market whether via the city laying down infrastructure or offering incentives to prospective buyers.) In a year's time we captured a little bit more than $300K which would allow us to begin “Phase 1” that would involve the creation of a retention pond (due to the property's location to Bailey Lake which is considered a stressed lake not one drop of water from “Area 51” can empty into it) as well as initial engineering expenses. Of course, we could decide to do nothing for the time being and that $300K would simply sit there until we can figure it out.


At next Tuesday's city council meeting we will be putting the matter to a vote. Will we decide to “test the market” and see if there's any interest out there to build in this development or we will punt and wait for a more opportune time? It seems to me like we have enough information to take the next step which would be to officially hire an engineer who would then work with the Plan Commission to decide on things like the size of the lots and the lay of the roads and such. Afraid that any future developer might not like the look of the manager's home in a potential new development, we put it up for bid last year which Ken Schmidt won for $1 (it will take him well over $20K to move it). Once the house rolls down the street we have potentially up to 9 lots on Knapp Street with ready access to city sewer and water that could be purchased and developed sooner than later. Every home built means another property on the tax rolls spreading the tax burden over a wider area which is always a good thing.
It's been up and ready to go since November

There are lots along Knapp Street that potentially could be
developed later this year

Every one who sits on the council wants the same thing: to see our city continue to grow and develop and be a great place to live and raise a family. Given the cost of things like pipes, asphalt and storm drains it behooves us to look twice before we cross the road. But eventually, it seems to me, that we have to do one thing or another. There's a more vulgar way to put it but I think you get the drift.



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