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9 - The Courier Hub - Focus on Stoughton - June 26, 2014

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Referendum breathes new life into schoolsDistrict would have been lowest-funded in countyScott De LarueLLeUnified Newspaper Group

After asking for and receiving the trust of district voters during the successful April referen-dum, the Stoughton Area School District (SASD) has gained a bit of breath-ing room in its uphill battle against declining enrollment.

The district, which had been in danger of being the lowest-funded in the county, received a sub-stantial shot in the arm with approval of the four-year, $20 million recur-ring referendum April 1 on nearly a 2-to-1 margin (3,773 to 2,212). Still, with no end or solutions in sight for stemming declining enrollment - the lifeblood of a school dis-trict – there is still work to be done to maintain its recent academic improve-ments.

T h e r e f e r e n d u m replaced two approved in 2010 that expired this month. According to the district, it will cost the owner of a $200,000 house an additional $105

per year during the next four years. Had it failed, taxpayers would have seen a $325 reduction next year, but the district would have faced a $3.1 million shortfall , and around $1.5 million for the 2015-16 school year.

Despite the success of the referendum, district officials have maintained they must continue to keep a leash on spending, evidenced by continued, though slight, staff reduc-tions for the upcoming school year. SASD super-intendent Tim Onsager said the district has built into its upcoming bud-get projections a need to reduce at least two full-time employees in each of the next four years due to declining enrollment, projected to be around 30 less students for the 2014-15 school year.

The referendum did raise the funding “floor” for the district, however, preventing a “worst-case scenario” district offi-cials had worked out in case of a failure, includ-ing the likely cutting of the equivalent of 33 posi-tions, reducing buildings and grounds services, increasing class sizes and freezing pay for all staff

‘Together, we’ve accomplished a great deal and we’ll need to work together to continue that work to keep Stoughton

vibrant.’

Tim Onsager Stoughton Area School District superintendent

Turn to SASD/Page 14

File photos

The Stoughton community has made progress in a number of social, economic and educational categories during the past year. Clockwise, the Stoughton Area School District passed a funding referendum, while commerce and art have been boosted downtown. Stoughton’s history got a renewed look with the opening of the Luke Stoughton House along the river, in addition to a new park near city hall.

10 June 26, 2014 Courier Hub ConnectStoughton.comFocus on Stoughton

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Events give downtown a boostWhile development on

the city’s western edge drew most of the head-lines during the past year, it needs to be noted that efforts to boost the city’s core business district are also underway.

Special shopping events – Third Thursdays and First Saturdays – have been set up to bolster downtown foot traffic and commerce.

T h i r d T h u r s d a y s

- sometimes called Busi-ness After 5 - got started in October by a group of downtown merchants. More than 10 businesses keep their stores staffed extra hours on these nights to draw in customers who are downtown for other events like concerts at the Rotary Park or shows at the Opera House or Village Player’s Theater.

First Saturdays has been

going for a few months and capitalizes on Stough-ton’s thriving arts scene. Local artists and musicians take to the streets from 10 a.m. until noon on the first Saturday of the month. Shoppers can meet the art-ists outdoors and stop into shops along Main Street.

– Mark Ignatowski

summit credit union opens on city’s west side

Summit Credit Union’s new, eye-catching branch in Stoughton opened its doors earlier this month.

Summit partnered with Madison-based Strang, Inc., to construct the sus-tainable building which features energy-efficient lighting, heating and air conditioning, reflective roofs, sustainable land-scaping and a storm water containment system. Sum-mit broke ground on the new, 3,100-square-foot facility, located at 2105 McComb Road, in October 2013.

The new branch employs eight employees, six of whom were new hires who reside in the area, two of whom reside in Stough-ton. In addition to the eight employees, the branch has a business lending offi-cer and a financial adviser available by appointment to offer members a full spectrum of services.

“We have heard from so many of our members how excited they are to have a branch in Stoughton,” Kim Sponem, CEO/president of Summit Credit Union said in a news release. “We’re eager to bring them a very convenient full-service location, partner with them in commitment to the com-munity and bring Summit value to their friends and

neighbors, too.”The credit union – based

out of Madison – has near-ly 30 locations in the Mad-ison and Milwaukee area. The company wanted to add a Stoughton office to serve members already liv-ing in the area.

“We already have a well-established member-ship base in Stoughton, and members have been asking for a branch in this community,” Sponem said. “We are excited to have a more convenient location for these members, and we also hope to serve mem-bers in nearby Oregon and McFarland.”

Established in 1935, Summit Credit Union is a member-owned finan-cial cooperative open to

anyone in Wisconsin . Summit holds $2 billion in assets and has more than 136,000 members through-out the Madison and Mil-waukee areas.

For more information, visit summitcreditunion.com.

Summit Credit Union

2105 McComb Roadsummitcreditunion.comLobby hours: Mon. – Thu.

8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Fri. 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sat.

8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Drive-up: Mon. – Fri. 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m.

– 1 p.m.

Photo submitted

Summit Credit Union opened its doors earlier this month.

Photo submitted

First Saturdays combine Stoughton’s vibrant arts scene and its downtown merchants to give shoppers entertainment and arts while they browse stores.

June 26, 2014 Courier HubConnectStoughton.com 11Focus on Stoughton

Kettle Park West plans approved, but still in limbocouncil waiting for impact analysisBiLL Livick Unified Newspaper Group

The proposed Kettle Park West commercial develop-ment continues to be debated in the community and at the Common Council.

Plans have been stalled since March, when the Com-mon Council voted to put further approvals on hold until an economic impact analysis has been completed.

The analysis is a required component of the city’s big box ordinance, and the For-ward Development Group has yet to provide the firm conducting the analysis with information it has requested for the study.

“Economic impact study materials have still not been delivered to Maxfield,” the firm the city has hired to do the analysis, said planning director Rodney Scheel. “The development group, including their retailers, have not supplied the infor-mation requested yet.”

The Common Council still has to create a tax-increment financing district. It asked the Plan Commission not to approve a Specific Develop-ment Plan for KPW until the city has received an indepen-dent analysis for the project.

The council approved a development agreement with the Forward Development Group in late January.

Some of the controversial project’s strongest support-ers have said they will not support moving forward with the KPW develop-ment if an impact analysis indicates it would harm the city’s economy. Supporters doubt that will happen, how-ever, while some opponents believe it could have a nega-tive effect on some existing businesses.

The development agree-ment approved by the council Jan. 28 calls for

building four retail/com-mercial buildings, includ-ing a 153,000-square-foot Wal-Mart SuperCenter, on 35 acres at the northwest corner of U.S. Hwy. 51 and state Hwy. 138. The plan includes $5.1 million in tax-increment financing for the project.

TIF is a form of taxpayer assistance that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure and other community-improvement projects. It combines reve-nues from all taxing jurisdic-tions on projects that would not exist “but for” the use of the TIF.

Forward Development Group began to assemble the proposed 325-acre develop-ment in late 2009. The first phase of the project involves a 35-acre commercial devel-opment, with Wal-Mart Inc. as the anchor business. FDG’s plan also calls for a bank, a convenience store and a restaurant, although

the developer has declined to say specifically which busi-nesses it’s working with.

In the development agree-ment narrowly approved by the council, the developer is required to construct off-site projects, estimated at a cost of $3 million, including improvements to U.S. Hwy. 51, state Hwy. 138 and Jack-son Street east and west.

The developer is also obligated to construct pub-lic stormwater management infrastructure, estimated to cost $1.59 million. FDG is also required to provide a letter of credit in the amount of $2.5 million.

The developer is to guar-antee that the city will receive sufficient actual tax increment, beginning in 2017, to fund all city debt service on city borrowing for stormwater management reimbursement and 70 per-cent of city debt service on city borrowing to pay for

off-site improvements reim-bursement.

And the developer is required to provide docu-mentation that three lots, apart from Wal-Mart, the anchor tenant, have been sold to commercial enter-prises. Those businesses are obligated to substantially complete construction by Oct. 31, 2015.

The city borrowed $2.3

million earlier this year for the project to meet its part of the development agreement. The city is also required to reimburse the developer for off-site improvements, up to $2.99 million, and reim-burse up to $1.5 million for stormwater improvements at the site. It also has pledged to reimburse the developer up to $550,000 for grading at the site.

Mayor Donna Olson said the city built many contin-gencies into the agreement that, if not met, would have the effect of negating the development agreement. But she’s been a strong supporter of the project as a way to stimulate economic devel-opment, which all agree the city badly needs.

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KPW timeline• June 2011: Urban

Service Area amended • Sept. 2011: Traffic

impact analysis submitted to state

• June 2012: Comprehensive plan amended

• June 2013: Annexation of 142 acres

• Nov. 2013: General development plan approved

• Jan. 2014: Development agreement approved

• Feb. 2014: Reconsideration of devel-opment agreement failed

• March 2014: Council approves moratorium on creation of TIF district until economic impact analysis is completed

• April 2014: Council chooses firm to conduct economic impact analysis

Rendering courtesy JSD Professional Services

Kettle Park West plans call for commercial, office and residential spaces along U.S. Hwy. 51 and state Hwy. 138. The Common Council is seeking additional information about the economic impact of the development before moving forward.

File photo by Kimberly Wethal

Framing Stoughton’s heritageConstruction of the city’s new Norwegian Heritage Center is well underway this year. The build-ing is being constructed by the Bryant Foundation. When it opens early next year, the two-story, 15,000-square-foot center will house a genealogy library, lounge, auditorium and spaces for both per-manent and temporary exhibits related to Norwegian culture.

12 - The Courier Hub - Focus on Stoughton - June 26, 2014

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June 26, 2014 Courier HubConnectStoughton.com 13Focus on Stoughton

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Party in the Park Gazebo part of the changing face of downtownBiLL LivickUnified Newspaper Group

Volunteers f rom the Stoughton Rotary Club deserve much of the credit for the new gazebo in Rota-ry Park, next to the Stough-ton Fire Station.

Octagonal in design with a 20-foot diameter, the gazebo was completed ear-ly this spring and has been getting plenty of use on its .7-acre parcel.

The project was “a joint effort of largely Rotary labor,” said Rotarian Doug Benham. “It’s really a city-wide effort.”

The Rotary Club ini-tially estimated the cost to build the gazebo, put down pavers and do landscap-ing would come to about $86,500. The club worked at raising funds over last summer to keep down the cost. Benham said funds left after the project was completed would be used to enhance the park.

With its central location on the same block with City Hall, the gazebo will be in a perfect location for wed-dings, family gatherings, city band performances and the like. In fact, a series of concerts has been sched-uled for Rotary Park this summer, including what promises to be an enormous turnout for the Catfish Riv-er Music Festival during the July 4 weekend.

The gazebo, as wel l as the creation of Rotary Park, didn’t cost taxpay-ers a dime. The gazebo is welcome to the public to use and can be reserved by contacting the city parks department or calling City Hall.

Ryan Casey entertains a crowd during a show at last week’s Gazebo Musikk concert series.

Photos by Mark Ignatowski

A little rain thinned the crowd a bit during the last concert at Stoughton Rotary Park. The new park is home to a summer concert series.

Photo by Bill Livick

Work on the gazebo at Stoughton Rotary Park started last year and was completed early this spring. Located next to the fire station and city hall, the park will host a music festival the weekend of the Fourth of July.

14 June 26, 2014 Courier Hub ConnectStoughton.comFocus on Stoughton

Luke Stoughton House restored and opened as museum annexIt took 13 years, but a $90,000

restoration of the Luke Stoughton House was completed last summer. The Stoughton Historical Society held a grand opening and ice cream social in July 2013 to celebrate the accomplishment.

This June 14, the historical soci-ety held a Pioneer Days event to educate people, coupled with anoth-er ice cream social, at the historic house.

The house was built in 1847 – one year before Wisconsin became a state – on what is now Main Street by city founder Luke Stoughton. At some point it was moved to Fourth Street, where the Jenson Furniture store is now located. In 1974, Jen-son bought the land on Fourth Street with the intention of building its store, and planned to raze the house.

That’s when the Luke Stoughton Society was established with the mission of saving the house. The organization got the city’s permis-sion to move the house to its present location at 315 N. Division St., a site on the Yahara River that everyone thought belonged to the city.

In 1999, the Luke Stoughton Society disbanded and turned the house over to the Stoughton His-torical Society. At about that time, the society learned that the parcel on which the house rested actu-ally belonged to the Stoughton Area School District. The historical soci-ety attempted unsuccessfully to buy the land from the school district, which did grant a 15-year lease for the property.

The small house had been rented out as a residence from the mid-1970s to the mid-‘90s. By then it had fallen into serious disrepair.

Dave Kalland, president of the historical society, said squirrels had

chewed holes in some of the upstairs walls, and the entire underlying structure was suspect.

In 2004, the school district extended its lease of the property to 30 years.

Three years later, Luke Stough-ton’s great grandson, Orren Turner, died and left $100,000 in his will to the historical society to restore the city’s first home – if the organiza-tion could come up with matching funds.

The historical society launched a fundraising campaign and in seven months was able to raise the neces-sary funding to accept the grant.

The following year, 2008, the historical society began Phase 1 of a restoration. That same year, the school board decided that it could grant the land to the historical soci-ety as long as the house had an edu-cational purpose.

Some of the major improvements to the house include a rebuilt roof, reinforced floor joists in the base-ment, new windows, exterior repair and paint. The society also put up new particleboard and insulated the house. They also had the home’s balloon construction structure “retied.”

Historical society member Nancy Hagen and Kalland said the house would be used as a museum annex.

“At this time, we think we’ll have one room from the 1800 era and one room for meetings,” Hagen said. “We’re leaning on the educa-tional aspect for the meeting room to learn the history of the town and the house. A third room, the small-est one, will be a reading resource room.”

– Bill Livick

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members.“I don’t see Stoughton

schools delivering their same high quality educa-tion without a (successful) referendum,” Onsager said in March.

Big pictureEarlier this spring, dis-

trict director of finance Erica Pickett warned that a successful referendum would not be a cure-all for long-term enrollment issues, however. According to the district, this year’s kindergarten class had around 100 fewer students than the ninth grade, num-bers that do not bode well down the road.

“The district will look different in the future,” she said. “The high school, when it was at its largest, was around 1,300 students. Cast that forward and it (is projected to eventually be) 800. That’s a pretty big change.”

Still, district officials said they hope the positive result will help both attract new students and keep families who might have left had the referendum failed.

“Families are looking for lots of things, but also sta-bility and guarantees, or least reasonable expecta-tions of programs,” Onsag-er said in March. “They don’t want to play this game of, ‘Will this program be there tomorrow or not?’”

In the end, the referen-dum passed with ease, and Onsager thanked the com-munity, students, staff and school board for the sup-port.

“Together, we’ve accom-plished a great deal and we’ll need to work together to continue that work to keep Stoughton vibrant,” he said. “Our community has done its part – they have really stepped up for us.”

School board member Pat Volk called the referendum victory a “huge touchdown” for the district.

“Now it’s up to us and (district staff) to make sure we shepherd these dollars as responsibly as we can,” Volk said.

SASD: Referendum passed in AprilContinued from page 9

File photo by Scott De Laruelle

Voters gave the go-ahead to the Stoughton Area School District to spend an additional $20 million over the next four years.

File photos by Bill Livick and Mark Ignatowski

The Luke Stoughton House - built in 1847 for the founder of Stoughton - was restored and opened to the public last summer.

The Stoughton Historical Society spent about $90,000 to complete the restora-tion. Some of the major improvements to the house include a rebuilt roof, rein-forced floor joists in the basement, new windows, exterior repair and paint. The society also put up new particleboard and insulated the house.

The group will use the home as an annex to its downtown museum.

June 26, 2014 - Focus on Stoughton - The Courier Hub - 15

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