The Menomonie City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, in the Council Chambers. An audio recording of the meeting and council meeting packet can be found HERE.
The Council's next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 3rd.
Sale of property in North Industrial Park
The Council approved the Purchase and Sale Agreement for 29 acres on 59th Street NE in the amount of $1,160,000. SPA Properties, LLC approached the city inquiring about purchasing the city-owned property located in the North Industrial Park to build a distribution center. SPA, LLC is the developer and is not the business that will be occupying the space.
Council member Chad Schlough inquired about the business that will be located in the distribution center. Michael Conzemius, who appeared on behalf of SPA Properties, stated that he could not disclose who it is but did say that it is a national retailer. It was disclosed that city staff signed an NDA and could not comment on who the ultimate business will be, but both Administrator Atkinson and Mayor Knaack stated that the business would be a good fit for Menomonie, and they had no reservations about the sale. It is projected that construction will start in the summer of 2025 and finish by early 2026.
Amended ordinance
Menomonie Fire Department Captain Brady Bleskacek appeared before the council requesting an amendment to City Ordinance 9-3-3 Code Enforcement and Fees. The current ordinance requires inspections twice per year; the amended ordinance will require an inspection once per year. Administrative code allows fire departments to reduce the frequency of inspections to once per year as long as the interval between those inspections does not exceed 15 months.
The department recently underwent a staffing study and audit, and the change was recommended by the consulting firm that completed the study. Captain Bleskacek explained that the change would allow the department to focus more time on reinspections of problem properties. The fire department inspects approximately 1100 individual structures and businesses. The Council introduced the amended ordinance, waived both the first and second readings, and passed a motion to adopt the ordinance change.
Special Recognition
The City of Menomonie recognized two residents for their service on the Urban Forestry Board.
Mike Schendel has served on the board for 12 years. Joe Jax has served on the board for 22 years and was the chair of the board for many years. In addition, Jax served as a city council member for several years, starting in 1972. Both men stepped down from the board at the end of 2024. Mayor Knaack thanked both men for their service to the City of Menomonie.
In other business:
The Council approved the Street Lighting, Traffic Signals, and Pedestrian Signals Agreement with Dunn County and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. This agreement will clarify who is responsible for maintaining the street lighting, traffic signals, and pedestrian signals along County, State, and Federal highways within the City of Menomonie. Public Works director David Schofield noted that this agreement will replace several “handshake” agreements between the parties. All three entities felt that a single current document would simplify matters moving forward. Dunn County has already approved the agreement.
UW-Stout’s Justin Utpadel, Senior Facilities Officer, and Erik Guenard, Vice Chancellor, presented the University’s long-range plan.
Items included in the plan are:
The construction of an Innovation Hub on the site of the current Voc Rehab building.
Turning 10th Street E from 3rd Street to 5th Street into a pedestrian mall.
Adding a geothermal heating system on the north campus.
Adam Accola, director of Dunn Economic Development, gave a presentation to the Council. He outlined the four pillars of his work plan: housing, business retention and expansion, small business and entrepreneurship, and business attraction.
January 6th City Council Meeting
The Council approved a three-year professional service agreement, 1-1-25 through 12-31-27, between the City of Menomonie and HydroCorp. HydroCorp inspects and monitors cross-connection compliance of commercial and industrial customers connected to the city water distribution system. These inspections, which are quite complex, must be completed every two years. At an annual cost of $34,164.00, this agreement is estimated to save the City one full-time and one part-time clerical position. This is a renewal of a previous contract. The city’s water department completes inspections of residential customers.
The Council approved the lease agreement between the City of Menomonie and the Menomonie Area Senior Center, Inc., from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025. The Senior Center is charged $1 per year to lease the property.
The Menomonie Housing Authority presented their annual payment in lieu of taxes to the city. The Council approved the acceptance of this payment in the amount of $61,132.34 from HUD Housing and $3,900 from Rural Development Housing.
