Thomas Street infill project plans in Wausau hit a snag

An infill affordable housing initiative for city-owned parcels on Thomas Street have not moved forward as mandated by the Wausau City Council, a move that took some alders by surprise.

The Council in March directed city staff to seek bids to construct single-family homes on several parcels, including on Thomas Street. Properties on Jefferson and West Bridge Streets are also included in the effort, which was the subject of significant discussion among council members since being proposed last year.

Mayor Doug Diny, in an email to city leaders that he shared with Wausau Pilot, confirmed that the request for proposals sent in April did not include the Thomas Street parcels, as the council had mandated. Further, he noted that the RFP that was issued resulted in “zero bids” and had “technical issues precluding full engagement from developers.” The nature of those technical issues is unclear.

Now, the city will go back to the drawing board. Diny said he aims to reframe the RFP using the appropriate language and include consideration of the Thomas Street parcels in the most effective manner.

A redevelopment committee on Monday will review a request to transfer all 13 Thomas Street parcels to the Community Development Authority. Development Director Liz Brodek said the proposed property transfer will pave the way for environmental cleanup grants that will tackle potential contamination found on any of the Thomas Street properties. Applying for a “Ready for Reuse” cleanup grant requires that properties must be transferred to an eligible entity within a specified time frame, Brodek said, and the CDA is “the most appropriate eligible entity.”

Brodek is asking the CDA for preliminary approval, conditional to Economic Development and Council acceptance.

“Essentially, to be able to clean up the properties after testing, the transfer is necessary,” Brodek told Wausau Pilot. “It makes sense to know that the CDA is willing to take this on before bringing it to ED and Council.”

But some alders say they were not informed of the change and only learned about the decision to remove Thomas Street properties from the RFP by reading it online. Dist. 3 Alder Terry Kilian, who represents a portion of the area in which the properties are located, said she was confused and concerned to see the council’s resolution disregarded without notice.

“For me the issue has become one of disregarding Council directives and making decisions contrary to the Council authority,” Kilian said. “That is an extremely significant issue and I feel must be dealt with appropriately and immediately.”

Dist. 10 Alder Lou Larson, who represents another impacted area, accused city staff of “going rogue” and called for the item to be pulled from the CDA agenda.

“I do not know why this has not gone out for bids as directed,” Larson said. “Liz Brodek has brought nothing to us as to why it has not been placed for bids. Staff members are required to work as council has directed them. As far as pushing these properties to CDA is in my opinion is wrong as council has not issued that directive.”

Brodek, in a memo that appears in the CDA packet, stressed that development of affordable homes on Thomas Street will require that the CDA owns those properties, has funds available to remediate any contamination and funds to develop houses. Those details and the rationale behind them were not presented to the council when their directive was made in March.

The infill project relies on American Rescue Plan Act funding, monies that must be committed by the end of the year. And in April, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources awarded brownfield assessment services to Wausau to assist with environmental investigation at the Thomas Street sites.

Lisa Rasmussen, who is president of the City Council and represents Dist. 7, said that feedback the city has received from people living in the Thomas Street neighborhood show that people want this process handled correctly, with contamination thoroughly addressed before new homes are built. She referred to emails from Brodek outlining recommendations for increased public-facing discussion on the matter “in part, because most of the [Economic Development] committee is new this term, and they need to be allowed to discuss and decide things as this moves along.” She said Brodek was also working to figure out if a grant for identifying contamination on the sites would be compromised by offering the sites for redevelopment right now.

Brodek, in an email to Wausau Pilot, also mentioned the uncertainty of the grant process for the affected properties and said she has been denied meetings to discuss the matter further.

“I’ve been asking for a meeting with the alder about this since mid-May and so far have not been granted a meeting,” Brodek said, without naming the specific alder. “I’ve also asked for neighborhood meetings since November 2023 with no response, and offered a meeting with the DNR which was deemed unnecessary.”

Rasmussen said the CDA specializes in the exact housing work the city is trying to do with the affordable homes.

“There may be a time or management advantage to having them involved,” Rasmussen said.

Mayor Diny said that while he is not a fan of changing strategies mid-stream, he will allow the CDA to discuss the option and will present recommendations to the council. The CDA meets at 11:30 a.m. Monday at City Hall.