The Gateway

The City of Lake Mills is situated on Interstate Highway 94 between Madison and Milwaukee. Tens of thousands of cars and trucks go between Madison and Milwaukee on a daily basis. This location affords the City a tremendous advantage in recruiting residents, businesses and industries.

The first intersection that one comes to when entering Lake Mills from the Interstate is STH 89 and Tyranena Road. It consists of typical highway commercial uses with significant amounts of vacant land. There are also a few residences scattered among the commercial uses.

The origin of the actual current configuration of commercial uses directly on the four corners of the intersection was not historic except for the vacant gas station on the southeast corner. The other uses are fairly recent and were “carved” out of the larger vacant parcels on both the northeast and northwest quadrants of the intersection. Consequently, there was no careful consideration to types of land uses, relationship to each other, ingress and egress considerations, and other types of planning and design criteria that are now used within the City.

An Opportunity Analysis was recently completed. This Opportunity Analysis analyzed all the different land use and design issues in the four quadrants of this intersection. Recommendations and goals and objectives were listed to help guide a more cohesive, logical growth to this area.

Because the current proposed TID boundary is essentially all developed land with a few small vacant lots, redevelopment and its accompanying tools, including tax increment financing, must be used to comprehensively address all the different issues related to this intersection.

This entry to the City of Lake Mills will not fully realize its potential without public improvements in infrastructure and, more importantly, a public commitment to redevelopment.

The creation of Tax Increment Finance District No. 4 (TID No. 4) would provide the financing vehicle for the City to undertake the public improvements necessary to stimulate private reinvestment and redevelopment within this significant area of the community. Without these redevelopment tools and public improvements, it is unlikely that any significant redevelopment or revitalization of this area would occur. In fact, it is more likely that continued illogical land uses and economically blighted vacant land will dominate this area and not contribute to the aesthetic and economic vitality of the entry to Lake Mills.

The purpose of TID No. 4 is to provide the necessary improvements in public infrastructure to eliminate blight, encourage economic development and increase property values. This project plan is written to provide funding for infrastructure improvements aimed at stimulating and enhancing economic development opportunities within the City of Lake Mills.

TID legislation changed in 2004 and 2005 with the passage of bills that created a new type of tax increment financing district called a “mixed-use” district. This district has a spending period of 15 years and a retirement period of 20 years. However, should the district not be financially feasible within the 20-year required time period for retirement, in the 18th year, the City may request of the Joint Review Board a 3-year extension for retirement. If the City provides an audit showing the inability to pay the indebtedness off within 20 years, the Joint Review Board must grant that extension.

One other significant change in the law also allows for cash grants to be given for specified redevelopment projects. Lastly, the City may amend the boundary up to four times. More properties may be included but the new law allows for properties to be taken out of the district. As with the older law, any projects undertaken within the amended area must be extensions of public purpose projects within the original TID project plan.

This project plan has been prepared in compliance with Sec. 66.1105(4)(f), Wis. Stats and the new changes. The project plan establishes a need for the project, lists the proposed improvements within TID No. 4, provides an estimated time schedule for completion of the project as well as an estimated budget. This project plan is to be adopted by the City Council on the recommendation of the City Plan Commission. The TID Project Plan and Redevelopment District No. 2 will be the official plans and guides for public and private sector development within their respective boundaries.

Implementation of the project plan and construction of the proposed improvements listed will still require case by case authorization by the City Council. Public expenditures for projects listed in the project plan should and will be based on market conditions and the status of development at the time the project is scheduled for construction. The City Council is not mandated to make the public expenditures in this plan. The public expenditures are an itemization of TIF-eligible project costs that the City may undertake as well as a guide for the Plan Commission and City Council to assist them in the decision-making process for public expenditures. Redistribution of project costs within the total budget estimate will not require amendments to the plan, provided that the project meets the purpose and intent of TID No. 4.