verona progress

7/29/2019 Verona Progress

1/12

A supplement to theVerona Press

Verona

Progress2 0 1 3


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2 September 26, 2013 The Verona Press ConnectVerona.com

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Downtown plan

Community weighs inon long-term outlookP i dpi ii f d d

Mark IgnatowskIUnifed Newspaper Group

A sure sign of progress isthe need for new infrastruc-ture and thats exactlywhat the city has been dis-cussing during the past sev-eral months as it relates tothe Four Corners intersec-tion.

Rush hour traffic vol-umes have reached a pointwhere some changes needto made to Verona Avenueand Main Street. City staffand planners from MSAProfessional Service havemet with stakeholders atpublic forums, a survey,committee meetings andthrough one-on-one inter-views to assess the needsfor Veronas downtown.

The process began inMarch at a brainstorm-ing meeting at city hall.Residents didnt have toomany comments at the timebecause there werent anyoptions to critique. Subse-quent meetings both bythe steering committee and

at public meetings gavemore options to approve ofor dislike.

The downtown planningproject has two major goals:determine what sort of traf-fic patterns are needed forsafe, efficient travel andwhat the community wantsin terms of redevelopmentin the downtown area.

Theres consensus thatthe downtown area needs

to be a vibrant meetingplace for the community,but theres no clear answeras to how to get there. Asfor traffic plans, leaders arelooking to move forwardwith a four-way, signalizedintersection.

Downtown feelAt several public meet-

ings this past year, resi-dents have emphasized thatthey want the downtownto have a unified look andfeel. Through these discus-sions, there seem to be twoparts of the downtown areathat residents have differentopinions on about accept-able uses and design, MSAplanner Jason Valeriusrecently told the projectssteering committee.

The downtown coreroughly covers a few blocksfrom the Main Street andVerona Avenue intersec-tions. In that area, residentshave said theyd like to seebuildings between two andthree stories tall, a mixtureof landscaping and hard-scape surfaces and a unifieddesign for public facilities.Most important, however, is

TimelineMarch 7: Initial meeting

at City Hall

March 14: Traffic planpresentation at VeronaSenior Center

Mid-July: Downtownvisioning survey

July 29: Downtownvisioning session at VeronaSenior Center.

Sept. 16: Steering com-mittee recommends signal-ized intersection

Mid-October: Publicmeeting for feedback on

master planNovember: PlanningCommission and CommonCouncil review

Photo by Jim Ferolie

If you compare Veronas downtown, along Main Street, earlier this month (above) with downtown 10years ago (below), youll see plenty of redevelopment and commercial growth but almost exactly thesame traffic patterns. City and civic leaders have spent much of this year holding public meetings todetermine how to plan for Veronas growth over the next few decades.

Photo by Karl Curtis

Turn to Downtown/Page 10


3/12

September 26, 2013 The Verona PressConnectVerona.com 3

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The creation of a new regional craft brewer, Wisconsin Brewing Company, has Verona residents and business owners excited about the potential of bringing thousands of people into the community to tour andattend events at the $9 million facility.

Home BrewedVerona gets a brewery it can call its ownJIM FerolIeVerona Press editor

A year ago, Verona learned thata new company planned to buildone of the largest craft breweriesin the state here.

It opens in a month, and thebeer is already being brewed.

The mammoth project is beingbuilt in phases but already has

the capacity to roughly matchwhat CEO Carl Nolens formercompany, Capital Brewery, hasbeen selling around Wiscon-sin for most of the past severalyears. Nolen and brother Markofficially brought Capitals for-mer brewmaster, Kirby Nelson,into the partnership last fall,and the three have been giddywith excitement over their new

multimillion-dollar venture.Its been a big talker around

Verona, too, with residents andbusiness owners excited to seetheir citys name on beer cansand bottles and be able to tour the23,500-square-foot facility start-ing Nov. 1.

The brewing company hasgenerated interest like no otherbusiness weve had in a long time,since Epic, said Karl Curtis,executive director of the VeronaArea Chamber of Commerce.The level of excitement aboutthis is just through the roof.

Not just because some of themlike good beer though thatis undoubtedly the case butbecause it creates a brand forVerona.

Itll definitely give us a

signature business that we coulduse, Curtis said, noting thatVeronas la rger employers ,including Epic, arent destinationsfor the typical consumer. It addsto our reputation in a visible way. The only thing that would addmore excitement would be if youmoved the Packers to Verona.

Getting the word outA major part of the companys

marketing, Carl Nolen has toldcity leaders, will be event hosting.

T h e $ 9 m i l l i o n b r e w e r yincludes an event room and a barthat will be open year-round fortourists and the like, but it wontserve food and it isnt designed asa hangout.

Message from the Chamber

Verona finally moving againWhen he campaignedfor the presidency in 1960,

John Kennedy employedthe slogan Lets get Amer-ica moving again.

More than 50 years laterI am happy to report thatVerona is moving again, too.

I can tell you that just afew short years ago, manybusinesses in Verona werestruggling, as were business-es all over Wisconsin and theUnited States. Good peoplewere working hard, but theso-called Great Recessionmade making ends meet dif-ficult on many levels.

While the boom times maynot have returned as we once

knew them, things in Veronaare definitely looking up!Today when I call on a localbusiness, Ifrequent-ly hea r , W e r eb u s i e rthan weveb e e n i na l o n gtime.

W h i l eour busi-nesspeo-ple remain cautious after thelean years we experienced,most everyone acknowledg-es the local economy is mov-ing in the right direction.

You can see this in theVerona skyline, too. Newconstruction, such as the newDairy Queen, Advance AutoParts and the much antici-pated Wisconsin BrewingCompany, can be found allover Verona. Our commer-cial spaces are also filling upwith new dentist offices, tan-ning salons and more.

Not only are we seeingnew commercial growth,but new home starts arealso ramping up after sev-eral years of stagnation.

With this growth comescommunity needs, too. The

JessicaSchluter, mar-keting directorat WisconsinBrewingCompany,reaches up toone of the 12taps that havebeen installedat the eventroom in thefront of thenew WisconsinBrewingCompanyfacility inthe VeronaTechnologyPark.

Photo byJim Ferolie Turn to Brewery/Page 11

Turn to Chamber/Page 8

Karl Curtis


4/12


Industrial parks

Long-awaited work starts on Liberty Park240-c pjc

i

piJIM FerolIeVerona Press editor

The City of Verona andDavid Reinke have beentrying to develop the 240-acre property he now callsLiberty Business Park foryears.

Finally, there are tangiblesigns of progress.

Last fall, contractorsworking for the landownercreated a roadway that willbe called Liberty Drive andbuilt a large regional storm-water detention pond, but

little else happened on thearea northeast of CountyHighways M and PB untilSeptember.

Last week the city beganputting utility lines down.And this month, the PlanCommission is expected totake a second look at thefirst planned constructionin the industrial park, an24,890-square-foot specbuilding that has at leastone potential tenant iden-tified but would also fea-ture ready-made space forsmaller businesses to startin or move into.

That could get shovels in

the ground as soon as nextmonth, and in any case, thecitys contractors have beengiven a Nov. 20 deadlineto pave adjacent LibertyDrive.

This projects been along time coming, MikeGreen, an attorney who hasrepresented Reinke with thecity for a few years now,told the Verona Press lastweek. Its good for thedeveloper, good for the cityto see.

False startsOf course, the project has

had more than a few signsof progress that ended uptaking a step back before,including a 2011 agreementfor tax-increment financ-ing that had to be reworkedand wasnt signed until twoyears later and last fallsroad grading that was sup-posed to lead to utilities andasphalt paving four or fivemonths ago and potentiallynew buildings in the fall.

But unlike the stalls of2009-11 that were mostlyeconomy-related, Greensaid the slow progress thisyear was more about get-ting things done in the rightorder.

City public works direc-tor Ron Rieder pointed toa change in the developersengineering firms after theplanning was almost fin-ished, and he and Greenboth suggested the diffi-culty of coordinating multi-ple related projects bogged

down the final preparationsfor engineering the utilityconnections.

Green said theres plentyof activity with potentialtenants and plenty of confi-dence that if Reinke buildsit, they will come.

The best way to get ten-ants is to have a place forthem to be, Green said.(The building is beingplanned) without a signedlease, but well probablyhave a signed lease by thetime we build it.

Getting certifiedThe property also is partof an exclusive state listof certified sites that arebeing marketed worldwidefor businesses that requirelarge chunks of land.

In addition to smaller par-cels spread throughout thewestern part of the prop-erty at the corner of countyhighways M and PB, Lib-erty Business Park has largeswaths that can accommo-date Reinkes Holy Grail: a

campus user that will needsomething like 50 or 100acres.

Getting that certifica-tion was an almost year-long process itself, and it,too, happened about fourmonths later than origi-nally expected. First, therewas a technical issue aboutright of way that had to beworked out with the stateDepartment of Transporta-tion, then an undergroundstorage tank issue that heldup a Department of Natural

Resources permit.But this spring, city, stateand company representa-tives were all smiles as thestate announced it wouldbe the 11th property to joinits Certified Sites program,something that can only helpan already slow-moving TIFdistrict that had until lastfall always just barely hitits deadlines for increasedvalue. That district includesthe Verona Technology Parkto the south, which added a

$9 million brewery this yearfor its first movement sinceSAFC-Pharma opened achemical plant in 2010.

Big potentialLike most commercial

property owners, Reinkehas high hopes for LibertyParks potential.

Last year he told the Vero-na Press he still planned tobring his 70-employee Lib-erty Parts Team business tothe park, expanding on itscurrent 57,000-square-foot

digs. He also sees a hospital,a hotel and the retail centerhe once pushed so hard for,along with whatever happenson the industrial portion.

The main broker for theproperty is RuedebuschDevelopment and Construc-tion, which first pitched itsideas to the city three yearsago. Ruedebusch did notreceive repeated phone callsfrom the Verona Press forcomment on the status ofmarketing the parcels.

Tickets available at: State Bank of Cross PlainsVerona, Capitol Bank and www.vapas.org or call 848-2787

2013-2014 Season

Transit Authority -A tribute to CHICAGO BandSaturday, November 9th, 2013A tribute band to the historic music of Chicago, the popular band from the 70s.

Rusty Evans -A tribute to JOHNNY CASHSaturday, April 26th, 2014Rusty and his three piece band, Ring of Fire, withhis rollicking tribute to Johnny Cash.

The Wisconsin Singers -By UW-Madison students themselvesSaturday, February 1st, 2014

Our own Wisconsin Singers. Founded in 1967 and has evolved into a professionalentertainment company.

Teresa Walters -A rare musical phenomenonSaturday, March 29th, 2014One of the worlds most significant pianists. A splendid musician.

Message from the Mayor

Citys growth isback on track

Growth and Developmentwithin the City of Veronahas steadily increased dur-ing 2013.

V e r o -n a h a sbecome aleader fornew proj-e c t s i n

the Madi-son areaas devel-o p m e n ti n t e r e s thas returned to pre-reces-sion levels.

Residential growthHousing growth in the

City of Verona remainsstrong due to great schoolsand people wanting to livein a safe community.

Through August of 2013,46 new houses were con-structed, one more thanthe same time last year.Houses continue to be builtin the Hawthorne Hills

subdivision on the south-east side and in the Meis-ter Addition to WestridgeEstates on the west side.The largest increase in newhome construction is inScenic Ridge and CathedralPoint subdivisions on thecitys south side with bothdevelopments adding addi-

tional phases in 2013.Construction of the SienaRidge apartment projectis wrapping up and will becompleted in 2013.

The city is currentlyreviewing a mixed-useproject, VeloCity, locatedat the corner of Paoli Streetand Nine Mound Road. Ifconstructed, VeloCity willadd 24 apartment units anda restaurant along the Mili-tary Ridge State Trail.

The city is also reviewinga proposal located withinthe Prairie Oaks develop-ment that would add 108

Timeline2002: Continental

Properties retail planincluding a Kohls depart-ment store withdrawn

2002: David Reinkepurchases property

May-June 2007: Reinkesubmits concept plan forretail, which is withdrawnafter negative reaction atPlan Commission

December 2007: ClarkStreet Development sub-mits 100-acre retail plan,but Plan Commission votes6-0 against it

March 2008: Publicforum indicates little sup-port for more big boxstores

August 2008: ClarkStreet returns with down-sized 36-acre plan; no vote

February 2009:Ruedebusch Developmentgets warmer reception withplan for mostly industrialdevelopment

July 2009: City annexesremainder of projects 240acres

January 2010: City sub-mits plans to CARPC

May 2010: Council OKsbusiness park plans

May 2011: Councilapproves TIF deal

Early 2012: Negotiationsbegin on revised contract

Spring 2012: Cityextends utility lines to parkalong Whalen Road

October 2012: Councilrevises TIF agreement

Fall 2012: Developerbuilds stormwater pond,begins grading LibertyDrive

September 2013: Citybegins installing utilitylines under Liberty Drive

Jon Hochkammer

Turn to Mayor/Page 8


The road running through the 240-acre Liberty Business Park will be complete by mid-November, allowing construction along it.


5/12


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Epic growth, even by Epic standardsPast year was Verona

companys biggest yetseth JovaagUnifed Newspaper Group

The marriage betweenEpic Systems and Veronacelebrated an anniversaryof sorts this year.

The 34-year-old companyfounded in Madison brokeground on its west-sidecampus in June 2003. Notsurprisingly, it has featuredprominently in our annual

Verona Progress issue inthe decade since.But the past year might

have been the biggest yetfor the nations largest pro-vider of electronic medicalrecords systems.

This spring, Epic openedits third set of office build-ings. The Farm Campushas three buildings (dubbedShed, Barn and Stable) thathouse roughly 1,300 work-ers in 960 offices.

Earlier this month, Epicopened the doors to DeepSpace, their 11,400-seat,underground f ive-s toryauditorium that, from theoutside, resembles a cavetunneling into a hillside.

The auditorium debutedin time for Epics UsersGroup Meetings, its annu-al convention that fromSept. 15-19 drew roughly8,500 visitors, surpassingthe 7,500 who attended in2012.

Meanwhile, the compa-nys workforce is expect-ed to reach nearly 7,000employees by the end of theyear. It added nearly 1,000workers in the past yearand has nearly double thestaff it had in 2009, when

it became Dane Countyslargest private employer.All but about 1,000 work inVerona.

Of the total workforce,nearly one-tenth or 672 live in Veronas ZIP code,while thousands more livein adjacent zip codes, SteveDickmann, Epics chiefadministrative officer, tolda Verona Area Chamberof Commerce group in

August.To construct its latestbuildings, the company alsoemployed between 900 and1,500 construction work-ers daily over the past year,Dickmann told the group.

The companys annualrevenues surged to $1.5 bil-lion in 2012, up from $1.1billion in 2011 and triplewhat they were in 2007.That number was expectedto exceed $1.7 billion thisyear, Dickmann said.

Epic software is now usedto store medical records ofbetween 152 million and190 million Americans or46-56 percent of the totalpopulation making it thenational leader in the field,Dickmann said.

Epics rise has continuedto draw state and nationalattention. Forbes magazinein March mentioned Epicfirst in its list of 10 cool-est places to work, joiningthe likes of Google, Micro-soft and Facebook. Earlierthis month, the magazinealso included founder andCEO Judith Faulkner onits annual list of the 400

Photos by Jim Ferolie

Epics campus now stretches from U.S. Highway 18-151 almost to County Highway PD and includes the new Farm Campus at left, a well and underground reservoir at right (instead of a water tower) and thebeginnings of two new campuses in the middle. In the foreground of this photo, taken last week, you can see work has already begun on moving a portion of Northern Lights Road to accommodate Campus 5.

Epics stunningly large, five-story deep auditorium, called Deep Space, seats 11,400 and is expandableto 14,000. The building, which has a cave theme (in a nod to the actual cave under the campus), wasfilled almost to capacity for last weeks Users Group Meetings and will be completed this fall.

The Farm Campus, which opened this summer, has almost 1,000 offices and will house 1,300 employ-ees, barely enough to keep up with the companys growth. You can see in the photo above that it isright next to the companys actual, working farm and has buildings that are dressed up to resemble, inan eerily realistic way, real farm buildings.Turn to Epic/Page 10

By the numbers

$1.5 bIllIon2012 revenues

11,400Seats in the new

Deep Space auditorium

6,800Epic employees

1,125Employees when Epic

broke ground in Verona

900-1,500Construction workers

employed at Epic

243CEO Judy Faulkners

rank on Forbes list of400 richest Americans

46-56%Americans whose

medical records are

kept on Epic software


6/12


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Housing shows continued growthsi-fmi md pm

Mark IgnatowskI

Unifed Newspaper Group

The Verona housing mar-ket continues to show strongsigns of improvement fol-lowing a steep dip four yearsago.

The city saw more than40 new single-family homestarts in the first three quar-ters of 2013, and multifamilyresidences have continued inpopularity, as well.

City of Verona buildinginspection documents showthat almost half of those newhome starts came in the Sce-nic Ridge subdivision on thesouth end of the city, devel-

oped by Brian McKee.The market in Verona isvery encouraging, McKeesaid.

Scenic Ridge has finishedbuilding its fourth phase ofthe subdivision, with all buttwo lots sold. The fifth phaseis under construction, McK-ee said, with 22 lots presold.

To have those presold isa great feeling, McKee said.

One phase remains afterthe fifth.

Veridians Cathedra lPoint, next to Scenic Ridge,also saw growth this year,said Brian Simon, presidentof operations at VeridianHomes.

Earlier this year, we sold

out of home sites, whichallowed us the opportunityto phase in an additional32 home sites located at thesouthern end of the neighbor-hood, Simon told the Pressin an email. Due to the pres-ent demand, we are predict-ing additional growth withinthe Cathedral Point neigh-borhood in 2014; therefore,

we will begin another phaseof land development in thenorthwest side of neighbor-hood later this year.

Tony Heinrichs, of Hein-richs Development Group,said Verona continues to bea strong market. The com-pany had about a dozen newhomes in the Meister Addi-tion to Westridge Estates on

the west side and HawthorneHills in the southeast.

We were pleasantly sur-prised this year with thehousing market, Heinrichssaid. Its certainly been a lotmore active than years past.

Hawthorne Hills is almostout of lots, he said, and theMeister Addition only hasabout a dozen lots left. Thecompany hopes to have thosesold by spring 2014.

Heinrichs predicted ashortage of residential lots inthe city in the coming yearsand said his company waslooking to develop somelarger, high end properties.His attempt to develop suchproperties on the Brown landon the south end of Veronadid not go over well with theCommon Council, however.

I get calls all the time

thats exactly what theyrelooking for, Heinrichs saidof the 1-2 acre lots.

And while the larger sin-gle-family lots may be attrac-tive to some residents, multi-family units continue to bepopular in Verona.

In 2012, the city addedabout 141 multi-family units,according to city build-ing permit documents. OnLucerne Drive, Siena Ridgehas 88 units of multi-familyhousing and a handful moreon the way. Developer Ter-rance Wall opened 53 unitsin the West End developmentnear Epic last spring, bring-ing his total there to 106.

On the single-family sideof residential living, Hein-richs said low interest ratesare attractive to buyers. Epicemployees, in particular,

have chosen to build in Vero-na, he said.

Simon, too, said Veronacontinues to be a popularmarket.

Verona is an absolutelywonderful community witha charming downtown atmo-sphere and a vibrant, grow-ing population, Simon said.It also has great accessibil-ity, making for an easy com-mute to downtown Madisonand the West side.

McKee though t tha twhile interest rates mightrise and temper some build-ing growth, its a sign ofincreased economic growth.

In general, peoples atti-tude toward building a hometends to be positive, McKeesaid. The philosophy thedream of owning a home isstill strong out there.

New home starts

2013 46*

2012 64

2011 41

2010 53

2009 26

2008 32

2007 80

2006 69

2005 106

2004 58

2003 43

2002 64

2001 137

*Jan. Aug.

By subdivisionJan. - Aug. 2013

Scenic Ridge 24

Cathedral Point 10

Meister Addition 9

Hawthorne Hills 3Photo by Jim Ferolie

The Scenic Ridge (foreground) and Cathedral Point (background) subdivisions have seen the fastest growth in the city over the past year.


7/12


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Reddan Soccer Park

High school teams move in amid renovationsanthony IozzoAssistant sports editor

Reddan Soccer Park hashad a busy year, with a$1.1 million renovation toadd lights, bleachers, a newsynthetic turf field, a score-board and a sports medicinecomplex.

The park also receiveda few more participants,with the Verona Area HighSchool boys and girls soccerteams now renting the fieldfor home games, which cost$75,000 upfront and will be$18,175 annually.

Improvements for thepark have been an ongoingprocess. Lights and bleach-ers were added to the fieldsin September 2012, and thework continued in the spring

with the addition of the IrwinA. & Robert D. GoodmanPitch, a championship fieldwith lights, bleachers, apress box, a scoreboard andnewly paved parking lots andaccess walkways.

A fence encloses the field,as well, and it has electricitylines from the bleachers tothe newly built UW HealthSports Medicine Pavilion,which will house trainers andspecialists to ensure the safe-ty of athletes for all events.There was also a drainagesystem added underneath thefield during construction.

These upgrades were fin-

ished for the grand openingSept. 24, and the restoration

of the grass around theconstruction zones willbe ongoing as the area iscleaned up. There will alsobe a ticket booth added laterthis year.

For the past few years,the Madison Area YouthSoccer Association hasbeen fundraising for this

upgrade and others, whichcalled for $3 million duringearly estimates. MAYSAreceived $1,756,000 of thatmoney with donations fromthe Goodman Foundation,Dane County Partners forRecreation and Conserva-tion, UW Health SportsM e d i c i n e , U S S o c c e r

Foundation, Unity Healthand other various individu-als and businesses.

MAYSA executive direc-tor Chris Lay said that theorganization fundraised tosave, meaning it was able tofind cheaper prices for ren-ovations to curtail the costs.The original goal of $3

million is something he saidMAYSA doesnt expect toreach.

It is unlikely that wewill raise all of the $3 mil-lion, but I think we need topat ourselves on the backwith being thrifty with howwe have spent money thathas come to us, he said.

MAYSA is still tryingto raise money to upgradethe north fields, and it hasshelved other projects, suchas adding player shelters onthe Irwin A. & Robert D.Goodman Pitch, for now.

There are a varie tyof things that are at the$15,000-20,000 level, andwe can look to add them inthe future, Lay said.

The UW Health Sports Medicine Pavilion was one of several upgrades that was a part of a $1.1 millionrenovation of Reddan Soccer Park this past year. The pavilion is near completion, with inside workexpected to be done this week.

Photos by Anthony Iozzo

The Irwin A. & Robert D. Goodman Pitch is the main soccer field constructed during the renovations at Reddan Soccer Park. It will househome games for Verona Area High School and Madison Edgewood boys and girls soccer teams and be used in tournaments.

Donationsand pledges

Goodman Foundation:$633,000

Dane County Partnersfor Recreation andConservation: $250,000

UW Health SportsMedicine: $250,000

U.S. Soccer Foundation:$100,000

Individuals: $30,000

Area businesses:$50,000

Clubs area: $125,000

Unity Health: $25,000

Anonymous foundation:$208,000

UW Sports fund:

$45,000Fiends of Bill Reddan

Capitol campaign:$40,000

Total: $1,756,000

Original goal: $3 million

Message from the Superintendent

Symbiotic relationship growing strongerThe research on the rela-

t ionship between localeconomic vitality and thequality of the local schoolsis unequivocal. The stron-

ger the local schools, thestronger the local economicvitality.

L i k e -wise, thes t r o n g e rthe locale c o n o -m y , t h es t r o n g e rthe locals c h o o l s .That link-a g e i ss t r o n ghere in the Verona Area.We believe our continuedcollaboration and workwith local units of govern-ment, business and industry

leaders makes us uniquein providing a holisticapproach to educating ourchildren and growing ourlocal economy.

In April 2013, the VeronaArea Board of Educationadopted an ambitious planto provide each of our nearly5,000 students in K-12 a per-sonalized learning plan tai-lored to their learning stylesand needs. To that point, theBoard has established fivebenchmark goals to reach bythe 2016-17 school year:

1 . E ve ry s tuden t inVASD has a personalizedlearning plan that providesa path to discovery andachievement and that planis reviewed and changed atleast annually based on thestudents needs.

2. Every students parent,

guardian or advocate partic-ipates directly in the design,implementation, and out-comes of that students per-sonalized learning plans.

3. Every student meets orexceeds the goals of his orher personalized learningplan every school year.

4. Every VAHS studentgraduates.

5. Every VAHS gradu-ate achieves their choice ofcollege and career path, asdetailed in their personal-ized learning plan.

The board has establishedthese outcomes because itbelieves every child must besuccessful. The board alsobelieves to settle for lessthan these outcomes wouldhave an enormous negative

Dean Gorrell

Turn to VASD/ Page 9


8/12


Chamber launches visitors websiteThe Verona Area Cham-

ber of Commerce launcheda new website this summerto offer visitors an easier-to-manage way of seeingwhats going on in Verona.

Until August, when thenew site launched, cham-ber executive director Karl

Curtis said the site vero-nawi.com was a one-stopshop for all of the infor-mation on the city.

The new website, calledvisitveronawi.com, focuseson tourism and outreach,including an events calendarand visitors guide.

This allowed visitors orpeople looking for activi-ties to have less table ofcontents to wade through,as well as giving morefocus to the original site,Curtis said. He addedpeople can still go to find

information on businesses,government or other com-munity information at theoriginal site.

He said while its toosoon to look at numbers,the change has gotten apositive response so far.

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chamber is actively partnering with the cityof Verona to craft a vision for downtown.

We at the Chamber would like to seeVeronas downtown become a vibrant placebustling with destination businesses andeager shoppers. This metamorphosis willnot happen overnight, but by thinking long-term we can eventually transform our cityand our downtown into a jewel.

I should add that this discussion is stillunder way. If you have not already done so,get involved in the Verona visioning process.

While so much is new in Verona thesedays, I will close on a very old note:please shop locally whenever possible.

Many people dont think about it, butthe brat stands so many of us enjoyed

this summer are made possible largelythrough the generosity a local business.The same can be said of the Ironman fes-tival that was held earlier this month andmany of the activities at Hometown Days.

Most free events you enjoy aroundtown, such as the wonderful Concerts inthe Park series in July, are not really free.Rather they are paid for by one or morelocal businesses.

That is why it can not be said enough:When you shop locally you help to makeVerona the great community that it is.

I hope to see you around town.

Karl Curtis is the executive director ofthe Verona Area Chamber of Commerce.For information, call 845-5777, [email protected] or visitveronawi.com.

Chamber: Downtown visioning is essentialContinued from page 3

apartments and 111 seniorhousing units.

As hous ing demandremains strong, the cityis quickly running out ofsingle-family lots. ScenicRidge and Cathedral Point

contain the vast majorityof single-family lots. In thenext few years the city willneed to expand our bordersin order to avoid a housingcrunch due to lack of sup-ply.

Commercial and

industrial growthNon-residential growth in

2013 was strong. Highlightsfrom 2013 include the fol-lowing:

Advance Auto Parts This 6,895 square foot com-mercial building is current-ly under construction on thecitys west side and will becompleted in the comingmonths.

Fairfield Inn & Suites This 91-unit hotel wasapproved at the intersec-tion of Nine Mound Roadand Verona Avenue andplans to start constructionin 2013.

Hometown Circle TheCity recently approved an8,620 square foot commer-cial retail center in front ofFarm and Fleet. While ten-ants have not been named,the city staff anticipates amix of retail and restaurantuses.

PC Nametag Located

on Horizon Drive, expan-sion plans were approved in2013 to increase the size ofthe facility by 8,000 squarefeet.

Reddan Soccer Park Additional enhancementsare being completed at Red-dan Soccer Park including asports medicine facility andchampionship field whichwill only further enhancethis well-known facility.

Sigma-Aldrich Locat-ed in the Verona Technol-ogy Park, Sigma-Aldrich isadding 15,000 square feetand will add 15-20 employ-ees in the coming years.

Vincenzo Plaza Dueto high office demand, thefinal office building for theVincenzo Plaza located onWhalen Road is under con-struction.

Wisco ns in Brew ingCompany This facil-ity is under constructionand is expected to open in

November and start sellingbeer made in Verona.

Epic continues to growand ant ic ipates having8,000 employees by theend of 2014. To accommo-date their past and futuregrowth, Epic has proposedCampus 4 to be located

north of the ir exis t ingbuildings, and it will add1,500 offices. In addition,Epic will start constructionof a new 64,000 square footfood service building toprovide meals for employ-ees.

The City of Verona con-t inues to work c lose lywith Epic on planning forutilities and transportationimprovements to accommo-date the growth at Epic andthe rest of the City.

Future planningWhile 2013 has provided

the City with many devel-opment projects, the Citycontinues to look towardthe future and plan accord-ingly.

Work on the Down-town Plan continues and isexpected to be finished inlate 2013.

Once this plan is in place,the city will have a docu-ment to guide developmentand redevelopment.

While the city remainscommitted to the down-town, we continue to planfor future growth in otherareas of the city.

The North Neighbor-hood, located west of CTHM and south of CTH PD,

has been identified as thenext area for city growth.The city hopes to com-plete this plan in late 2013or early 2014. This newneighborhood will provideresidential, commercial andoffice development.

Public works projectsAs Verona cont inues

to grow, the public worksdepartment strives to ensurethat the citys streets andutilities are maintained.

During 2012, the depart-ment rehabilitated severalstreets, replacing sectionsof curb and gutter and

resurfacing the streets toextend their life.The c i ty a lso recon-

structed the portion ofCross Country Road fromEnterprise Drive to theReddan Soccer Park. Thisupgrade will help improvethe flow of traffic in thearea and improve safety for

pedestrians and motorists.Verona continues to work

with the City of Madisonand Dane County on plansfor the reconstruction ofCounty Highway M includ-ing the intersection of CTHM and CTH PD. Con-struction of this project is

planned for 2015 and 2016.City services

The city provides severalprograms and services thathelp contribute to the highquality of life for the com-munity. The public worksand parks departmentsremain active in maintain-ing City streets, sidewalks,parks, and other publiclands.

The City offers manygreat programs for resi-dents through the recreationdepartment, senior cen-ter and the Verona PublicLibrary.

The library received rec-ognition for their excellentservices when they werenamed Library of the Yearby the Wisconsin LibraryAssociation.

City finances, taxesAs the community has

grown, the city has strivedto continue to provide highquality services while limit-ing the impact on taxpayers.

During the past severalyears, the city has investedin several new facilitiesincluding the library, seniorcenter, public works facilityand the Verona City Center/police station. Currently a

new fire and EMS facility isbeing designed.

These are legacy projectsthat will serve the com-munity far into the future.Verona has been able tocomplete these projects ina responsible manner andthe city has a long historyof sound financial manage-ment.

As mayor, I will continueto promote efforts to main-tain services while limitingthe impact on the taxpayerand protecting the cityslong-term financial health.

I appreciate the opportu-nity to serve as your mayor,

and I encourage anyonewith questions, commentsor suggestions about Vero-na to contact me, membersof the Common Council orcity staff.

Jo n Ho ch ka mm er ha sbeen mayor of Verona since2006.

Mayor: Projects, planning all over the cityContinued from page 4
mailto:[email protected]://www.veronawi.com/http://www.veronawi.com/mailto:[email protected]


9/12


NewBusinessesEngineering For Kids

Address: 9406 Hill CreekDr.

Principal owner: RutuBole

Opening date: April 2013Employees: 7

Charity connections/plans: In the future wewould like to make our pro-grams available for the under-privileged students.

Verona connection:Want to reach out to the com-munity and capture studentsinterest in scientific fields whilethey are young, so they can bedeveloped in the future.

Business focus:Engineering for Kids offersa suite of programs for chil-dren ages 4 to 14 introducingthem to science, technology,engineering and math througha variety of workshops allaimed at developing problem

solving skills. Complement thecurriculum taught in schoolsand teach STEM conceptsas after-school or weekendprograms. The main idea is tomake our curriculum availablefor all kids ages 4 to 14.

Whats special aboutyour business? EngineeringFor Kids brings science, tech-nology, engineering, and math(STEM), to kids ages 4 to 14in a fun and challenging waythrough classes, camps, clubs,and parties. We are proud toinspire children to build on theirnatural curiosity by teachingengineering concepts throughhands-on learning.

Dairy Queen Grill &Chill

Address: 651 HometownCircle

Principal owners: LukeLee and Timm Heller

Opening/arrival date:March 18, 2013

Employees: 45

Charity connections/plans: Childrens MiracleNetwork, Verona AreaNeeds Network, CountryView Elementary, NewCentury School, Verona AreaInternational School, VeronaHigh School, Saint JamesChurch, Saint Maria Goretti

KT and Co. BoutiqueAddress: 500 W. Verona

Ave.Principal owner: Keri

HallOpening date: Oct. 16,

2012

Employees: 2Charity connections/

plans: We donate andsponsor various local chari-ties, your newspaper events,school events, church raffles.Most of the area commu-nity stuff. Someone is alwaysin asking and we alwayshelp. Pediatric Brain TumorFoundation.

Verona connection:Our family (Maurer) settledin Verona in 1906 and each

generation has been active inthe Verona community andsurrounding areas within thefarming community, our ownbusiness or working in the

Verona area ever since. Weare very proud to call Veronaour hometown.

Business focus: Westarted KT and Co in 2012 asa way to bring more new retailto Verona. We are alwaysexpanding and now offerpetite to full size clothing inaddition to handbags, jewelryand travel accessories includ-ing Pandora Jewelry. We willbe adding evening/specialevent attire this fall.

Whats special aboutyour business? We takegreat pride in offering excep-tional customer service andunique products that are

affordable in todays market.We love helping our custom-ers pick out the perfect gift forthat special someone in theirlives. We absolutely love ourjob!

The Suite Life SalonsAddress: 1055 North

Edge TrailPrincipal owner: Abby

and Jason StendalenOpening date: April 2013Number of renters/fel-

low business owners: 5current, 8 total

Verona connection: Ifeel Verona is a wonderfuland growing community and Ialready had a large amount ofclientele in the area.

Business focus: TheSuite Life Salons is a multi-suite salon for individual salonowners. Each salon owner hastotal control of their businessincluding prices, hours andservices.

Whats special aboutyour business? Wehave a wide range of ser-vices between all of us, whichincludes hair, nails and skin-care.

TBM - Therapeutic

Bodywork and

Movement LLCAddress: 161 Horizon Dr.

109BPrincipal owner:

Jennifer GetzOpening/arrival date:

Sept. 3, 2013Employees: 0

Charity connections/plans: We participated inthe Verona Fire Stations ChiliCook off!We are hoping todo a Community Night afew times per year. We wouldoffer class demos and body-work in exchange for foodpantry items or a small dona-tion to support a local charity.

Verona connection: Myfamily and I live in Verona andwanted to build a businessclose to home. We feel wecan support the communityby offering services that drawguests to the area and in turnfeed our local economy.

Business focus: We area small, high-quality body-work center with a focus onlife-enriching therapies andinstruction. We offer thera-peutic techniques of Massageand Bodywork, and eitherprivate or small group classesin Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, andMetabolic Training.

Whats special aboutyour business? Eachmember of our TBM teammaintains their individualbusinesses and working stylesin order to allow themselvesthe freedom and creativityneeded to give guests the bestthey have to offer. Our focusis on creating mindful move-ment classes and complemen-

tary therapies to enhance ourguests quality of life.

Flawless Tan

Veronas Premiere

Tanning SalonAddress: 1051 North

Edge Trail

Principal owners:Teresa Wergedal and JenniferStelzer

Opening: April 2013

Employees: 2

Charity connections/plans: We have donatedservices & funds to localorganizations, & are continu-

ously looking for opportuni-ties to support the VeronaCommunity.

Verona connection: We

decided to set up our salonin Verona because we like thesmall-town feel. We are alsofrom the Madison area. Imexcited for my son to grow

up here. The school system isamazing.Business focus:

We offer four levels of UVTanning, Spray Tanning,Custom Spray Tanning,Teeth Whitening, & more!We always have new specialsgoing for seasonal events,student specials, and just forfun specials.

Whats special aboutyour business? We are afamily owned local business.We are a boutique style tan-ning salon & are not a chain.We want each & every one ofour clients to get their perfecttan with our knowledge in tan-

ning and spray tanning. Wealso offer teeth whitening.

David A. Besley, DDSAddress: 109 E. Verona

Ave.Principal owner: Dr.

David A. BesleyOpening date: June 1,2013


plans: I am a corporatesponsor of Wisconsin PublicRado and I volunteer at theMadison Dental Initiative, pro-viding free dental care at theSalvation Army Shelter.

Verona connection: Iam thrilled to be a part of avibrant, growing communitylike Verona.

Business focus: Weare a general dentistry officecommitted to providing highquality, personable care. Weoffer all of the dental services

you would expect from yourdentist: preventive treatment,mouthguards, tooth-coloredfillings, whitening, and porce-lain crowns to name just a few.

Whats special aboutyour business? We area small dental office with awarm, friendly atmosphere.

We make every effort to makeour patients feel at home andat ease.

Verona ChiropracticAddress: 413 W. Verona

Ave.Principal owners:

Chiropractors Tara Osterholzand Lindsey Reitzner

Opening date: March 4,2013


plans: We joined the VeronaLions Club in 2013 and haveenjoyed working alongsidesome of Veronas service lead-

ers. We also participate in bell-ringing for the Salvation Army.

Verona connection:Veronas small town communi-ty, family atmosphere is whereour heart is. Verona offers theperfect opportunity to share thegift of wellness to the residentsin this growing community.

Business focus: Ourfocus is individualized well-ness chiropractic care, treat-ing the whole family frominfants to the elderly. Webelieve your health shouldbe viewed as a whole pictureand will promote healthylifestyle changes for eachpatient through chiropractic

care, massage, nutrition, andexercise.

economic and social impacton students, educators, par-ents, policy makers, employ-ers, employees, residents,homeowners and citizens. Asa community, we must takeresponsibility for every stu-

dent.

Lastly, we believe ourschool district contributesgreatly to the quality of lifefor all citizens in the Vero-na area. The light shines onthe area because all units ofgovernment, the city, thetown, the businesses andschool district are pulling in

the same direction.

It is an exciting place tolive, work and raise a fam-ily. We are proud of ourcommunity and hope toshare it with others fromacross the country.

Dean Gorrel l i s thesuperintendent of the Vero-

na Area School District.

VASD: Planning on individualized educationContinued from page 7

Photos by Scott Girard

KT & Co. (left) opened last fall and has already updated its clothing selection. Verona Chiropractic (right) built a new building,
http://www.engineeringforkids.net/programshttp://www.engineeringforkids.net/programshttp://www.engineeringforkids.net/programs


10/12


Kathy Bartels235-2927

[email protected]/bartels

Nobody Knows Verona Like Bartels!

Put Kathy To Work For You!

accommodations for busi-ness parking off-street ifon-street spots are removedto improve traffic flow.

Extending outward fromthe core area are the gate-way areas to the downtown.

These include places like theFarm and Fleet area and outtoward Wildcat Lanes.

In these parts, residentswere open to buildings of upto four stories in some cases.Parking and pedestrian safe-ty are still major concerns inthese parts of town.

Traffic planPlanners took some flak

from residents when theyfirst started the corridorstudy. The debate was clas-sic chicken and the egg do you plan a traffic pat-tern first and discuss waysto redevelop areas, or do

you pick a vision for thedowntown and make a traf-fic pattern fit that idea?

Planners have been doinga bit of both, but the steer-ing committee recently gavetheir support to one of thetraffic options a signal-ized Main Street and VeronaAvenue intersection.

The public weighed in onfour different options:

1. Do nothing2. Make improvements to

the traffic signal-controlledintersection

3. Build a roundabout, or4. Convert Franklin and

Main streets into a pair ofone-way streets.

Planners have repeatedly

said that this downtown

plan will shape the landuse plan for the area for thenext few decades.

A lot of strong feelingswere presented about thedifferent options at publicmeetings. Some residentssaw a pair of one-waystreets as a way to builda strong commercial corein middle of the city. Butothers thought there arenttoo many issues with thecurrent traffic pattern andthat picking the least inva-sive option would allowfor some traffic improve-ments without dis rupt-ing the citys core. Someargued that by keeping the

intersection similar, the

city would be able to make

changes in the future.Future decisions

The steering committeesrecommendation for a sig-nalized, four-way intersec-tion isnt the last step in theprocess.

A publ ic meet ing isplanned for later this monthwhere residents can weighin on designs and drawingsof what the area might looklike.

The steering committeewill review the public com-ments from that meetingbefore a final draft is sent tothe citys Plan Commissionand Common Council laterthis year.

Rendering courtesy MSA Professional Services

Downtown plan steering committee leaders have recommended a plan that would keep a traffic signal atMain Street and Verona Avenue and increase capacity through adding more lanes, rather than switching

to a roundabout or split one-way streets.

richest Americans, puttingher net worth at $2.3 billion(good for no. 243), thoughthe company had previous-ly taken issue with Forbesestimate of Faulkners networth in 2012 ($1.7 bil-lion), saying it was incor-rect.

Epics success has alsofueled a new industry ofconsultants who help cli-ents install and operateEpics healthcare software.Between 1,500 to 2,000consulting firms now offersuch services, according toa story earlier this month intheMilwaukee Journal Sen-tinel.

Epic in the past year alsoadded to its extensive port-folio of alternative energysources, as it erected six1.65-megawatt wind tur-bines north of Middletonlast fall. The 262-foot tow-ers near Highway 12, about

16 miles north of Epicscampus, were to be broughtfully online this month,Dickmann told the Cham-ber group. The companyalready uses a geothermalsystem for heating andcooling and generates elec-tricity from an 18-acre fieldof solar panels on its Vero-na campus.

The company is showingno signs of slowing down.Two more campuses, eachwith roughly 1,500 officesand the equivalent numberof underground parkingstalls, are in the works.

E a r l i e r t h i s m o n t h ,city leaders approved the

companys plans for a new64,000-square-foot food-service building that willresemble Kings Cross Sta-tion in England, completewith a 48-foot-tall clocktower. Construction on thatproject was expected tobegin last week.

As for future office build-ings, Faulkner told the

audience at the recent UGM

that the Wizards AcademyCampus, Epics fourthcampus, is tentatively set toopen in 2015, and the fifth,the Authors Campus, couldopen in 2016, companyspokesperson Barb Hernan-dez confirmed.

In other words, expectEpic to be a large part ofVeronas progress for years

to come.

Epic: Dormant wind turbines in Springfield

likely to become fully operational this monthContinued from page 5

Downtown: Parking and pedestrian safety remain major concerns in core areaContinued from page 2

Photo by Scott Girard

An entrance to Epics Barn building on the new Farm Campus ishoused within real barn doors. Each of the buildings in the FarmCampus, like others at Epic, has its own dazzlingly detailed theme.


Residents meet in small groups during a downtown visioningsession in August to discuss details of what they envision for thedowntown corridor.


11/12


I n s t e a d , i t w i l l b edesigned for large parties,such as corporate events,and will be complementedby a large open space infront and to the side of thebuilding that overlooks the

9-acre stormwater deten-tion pond in the VeronaTechnology Park.

Nolen aspires to get acouple hundred thousandvisitors a year, like theNew Glarus brewery does.While all of those thingswill bring in revenue, hedoesnt expect it to be aprofit generator as muchas something to get peopleinterested in the product.

Our indus try thevineyards and cheesemak-ers benefit from curiousconsumers, Nolen said.The hosting part of it is(bringing in people whowill become) raging advo-cates of our brands.

Those parties, of course,will get the freshest kegsaround. But for the rest ofthe distribution, WBC willat first produce the kegsand tanks of beer and shipit elsewhere to be drankand bottled.

The current facility andsetup has the capacity toproduce about 20,000 bar-rels of beer per year, whichwould immediately put itinto a small category ofregional brewers, amongthe top 10 craft beer pro-ducers.

The brewery is set up

to easily accommodate aroughly 50 percent increasein that capacity, simply byadding four more ferment-ing tanks inside the exist-ing production area. Oncegrowth is projected to gobeyond that 30,000-barrelnumber or roughly whatCapital is producing thisyear theres room on thesite for a second phase thatwill dramatically increaseits capacity and bring bot-t l ing and canning intoVerona.

Nolen wou ldn t s ayexact ly how much thebrewery i s p roduc ing

immediately, but he saidits planned based on theforecast given by his dis-tributor, Wisconsin Distrib-uting Company, and thatits pushing capacity ofthe plant already.

Craft drinkers today...cant wait to try somethingnew, he said.

Veronas brandUnlike many large proj-

ects, this one isnt going tobe measured in tax base or

jobs anytime soon.The facility is located in a

tax-increment financing dis-trict, and it doesnt bring asmuch tax money to the cityas its value would suggestbecause much of its cost isin the brewing equipment,which is essentially propertytax-free, according to statelaw. And despite its size,its not a huge job-producer,with so much of the equip-ment operable by a skeletoncrew. Nolen said it has eightfull-time employees and willhire some part-time helpwhen it opens. Just three areinvolved in operations now.

But the city was happyto provide a TIF grant of$600,000 which will takeclose to a decade to payback through property taxes

to ensure the project wassuccessful. Thats becausethe value of bringing WBCinto the city was ratherabout creating reasons forpeople to come here, MayorJon Hochkammer said lastweek.

Part of it is its going tobe a destination for people,Hochkammer said, notingthat microbrews are hugein popularity lately. Everybottle of beer is going tohave Verona on it. Thatsexciting for the city.

Theres no doubt aboutthat.

Veronans first heard about

the brewery idea a year ago,and chatter about it reachedthe kind of levels only heardaround here when the Pack-ers are in the playoffs.

A Chamber of Com-merce economic develop-ment committee meetingintroducing Nolen and Nel-son drew a record crowdof about 60 people, and itseemed to be on the tips ofeveryones tongues, evennon-drinkers. It inspiredstories in several statewidemedia outlets and moretelephone calls on a singlesubject than Curtis couldever remember. He said lastweek it is still by far the

most asked-about businessin Verona.

Building to the futureThe brewery got a quick

approval for the buildingplans, the TIF grant anda complicated, three-waydevelopers agreementinvolving the tech parks

landowner, the Livesey Co.Ambitious plans to startbuilding in November andbe open by Memorial Daywere squashed by the real-ity of acquiring a more than$4 million in brewhouseequipment, which finallyarrived in August from Hud-

son based-GEA Corp., butsince construction began inJanuary, the project has heldclose to its original Septem-ber/October target.

Nolen told the Press lastwinter that WBC was for-tunate to get the equipmenteven that quickly. Shortlyafter he submitted the order,he said, the waiting listfor equipment grew to 10months.

Meanwhile, Nelson hasbeen busy brewing up fla-vors that were taste-testedat the Great Dane Brew-ing Company and VintageBrewing Company restau-rants around the Madisonarea. Most sold out in days,giving the company highhopes that it will have a faststart with its initial offeringof four different beers.

Were feeling bullish,Nolen said. Weve hadover 5,000 customers drinkour product.

GEA began commission-ing the equipment shortlyafter its arrival and was stilltesting equipment for leaksand proper operation in mid-September. Its first day ofbrewing was last Wednes-day, with each beer taking24-32 days for production.

Nolen said he is target-

ing the next major phaseof expansion includ-ing the bottling facility for early 2015. Of coursethat depends on how wellthings go between now andthen, but Nolen said hesextremely confident fromwhat hes seen so far.

As hes noted all alongwhenever hes been asked,craft beers are taking anincreasingly larger marketshare. All it takes is a quickGoogle search to find storiesabout breweries all over thestate boosting capacity including major expansionsat New Glarus, Stevens

Point and Ale Asylum justthis year.He cited statistics that

show an 8 percent growthin the market just two yearsago compared to 20 percenttoday, with some brandsgrowing 50 percent or more.

The craft category isgrowing at an acceleratedrate, he said.

608-845-3443

www.sojoblau.com

[email protected]

104 E. Verona Ave.

Verona, WI 53593

Celebrating Our 5th Year

Thank you Verona!

Brewery: Pushing capacity at beginningContinued from page 3


Workers from Hudson-based GEA, including some from Spain and Germany, have been commission-ing the brewhouse for the past few weeks. It began brewing beer last week.


12/12

210 S. Main StreetVerona, WI

845-6478

As Verona

MovesForward

Miller

& Sons

is with

you

every

step

of theway.

Serving the

Verona area

for over100 years.

12 - The Verona Press - Verona Progress - September 26, 2013

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