At a council meeting on Monday, May 13, Ehlers Senior Municipal Advisor Sean Lentz walked council members through the steps to create a new tax increment district (TID) to help finance construction of the new library scheduled to break ground next month.

TID No. 12 will collect tax revenue anticipated from the construction of a new mixed-use library/apartment building to fund $1,500,000 worth of “pay-as-you-go” development incentives for underground parking and another $500,000 for pedestrian and sidewalk improvements within a half mile radius of the new library. Revenue generated by the district will assist the developer, 360 Real Estate Solutions, in paying costs associated with underground parking needed to create a mixed-use development.

No tax increment financing will be used for the library or residential units of the project. 

The city determined that not less than 50% of the property on which the project is to be constructed qualified as blighted as defined by Wisconsin statute. 

“And as such this district will be considered a blight elimination district,” Lentz said. 

Underground parking and sidewalk improvements enabling the construction of a mixed-use library complex contribute to blight elimination. The project positively impacts the community by enhancing the value of all real property in the District while generating positive secondary impacts including increased employment opportunities, residential housing, cultural and educational enrichment and increasing consumer traffic and spending downtown. 

The maximum life of TID No. 12 will be 27 years. However, the city anticipates the district will generate sufficient tax increment to pay all project costs within 23 years. 

The city estimates the land and improvements attributable to the project can be valued at $11 million from which the district would generate $5,239,436 in revenue through 2052. The projection includes a 1% annual appreciation in the property’s value and is based on the pace of development and city’s tax rate.

Council members voted unanimously to create TID No. 12.

City to purchase license plate reader technology

New Richmond Police Chief Craig Yehlik informed the council that the department’s free access to Flock Safety’s network of license plate reading cameras will be canceled unless the city is willing to purchase cameras of its own to join the network.

The network, which includes the neighboring communities of Hudson, North Hudson, Rice Lake, Barron and many other jurisdictions across Wisconsin and surrounding states, had been allowing police to access the system for investigative purposes. 

The technology has been useful in a number of ways:  helping locate missing persons, tracking stolen property, identifying outstanding warrants and finding vehicles involved in hit and run accidents. 

In order to continue having access, the police department will need to install cameras of its own. 

“What many agencies around us do is they set up what’s called a geofence around their jurisdiction. For us to do that, we would need approximately 16 cameras,” Yehlik said. 

The department determined the minimum number of cameras for an agency the size of New Richmond would be four. Installing four cameras would provide benefits locally to the department — while also allowing it continued access to the wider network.

Flock Safety requires a two-year contract. 

The estimated cost for installation and maintenance for four cameras for the first year is $14,600. 

City staff determined that $14,073.10 remaining from 2017 hail damage funds could be reallocated to the cameras. NRPD would absorb any costs over the hail damage reallocation out of its annual budget for 2024. 

The cost for the second year of the contract will be $12,000, requiring an increase to the 2025 budget. 

Should the system prove beneficial the cost of additional cameras could be phased in over the next several years.

Council members voted to approve the reallocation of hail damage funds for the purchase and installation of four cameras. 

Quick hits

• Council members approved the Certified Survey Map (CSM) for the new library dividing the property at 421 S. Green Ave. into three lots .69, 1.63 and 1.6 acres in size and zoning them Z6 Central Business District suitable for multi-story, mixed and single use commercial block buildings, townhouses, multifamily residential, lodging and civic buildings. 

• Council members approved a quote for $28,000 from No Limit Brick and Stone LLC to rebuild the two stone columns at the entrance to Mary Park. One column was damaged by a vehicle in July 2023. In order to ensure that the stone and mortar for both columns match aesthetically, the Council decided to replace both. With the quote from Fusion Metals for $3,335 to replace the metal sign spanning between the two columns approved earlier by the council, the total cost for the project comes to $31,335. Funds will come from the 2023 insurance claim in the amount of $52,279.00.

• Council members approved a development proposal from Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH) worth $6,240 to provide options to improve the Knowles Avenue streetscape. The proposal includes evaluating amenities in the context of longevity, affordability and cohesive and attractive design which compliments historic downtown; focus on benches, flower planters, bike racks and decorative street lights; and developing in conjunction with downtown business owners and three options for a site furnishings package with estimated costs.