When Is A Visioning Session Not A Visioning Session? When VOG Pre-Plans Outcome Of Village Center - Closed On Flower Source Property 3-5-2025 For $1.7M.
GSD Secretary Invites Everyone To Meeting 3-11-2025 6:00pm - Feedback On VOG Area Development. PD Promotes Jeremy Petersen To Sergeant. Police Chief Pay Is Set. 2024 Library Report - 103,707 Visitors.
From agenda packet.
3-3-2025 Village Board Meeting agenda packet here.
Recording here.
Min 5:15 meeting starts.
Min 6:20 Sergeant Jeremy Petersen is sworn in as sergeant.
Min 10:00 Announcements and consent agenda.
Min 11:15 public comments. Village has purchased the Flower Source property without residents’ approval. Developers should fund the building of the village center. Recession is coming. Taxpayers should have a say in what is going into the proposal.
The village center proposal as presented has been farcical in that it was all pre-planned, behind closed doors, pretending to take feedback from residents. Trustee Baum has been active on social media & newspapers spreading misinformation about those of us who speak up and try to get the truth out. The things unearthed by citizens that the village has been hiding is true - we’re talking TIDs and spending $11M. Just as in the Grosenick instance, the contract pricing was not divulged to the public, nor was the project ever fully presented. Based on past snafus by staff, the resident is not convinced that the project will be successful. Example: the transfer discussion at the public meeting of hunting rights from the Goldendale Park to Wilderness Park, why wasn’t that known before? Whose pockets are being enriched by this development?
Appreciate the vision of the village center. The study that was presented at the previous meeting is 20 years old and in Boston which is much larger than the Village of Germantown. Speaker cites studies: links between land use and violent crimes, adding density increases crime rates. He says that BMO has no plans to leave. When will village get the cool stuff in the plan now shown as phase 2? Speaker turns to the audience and asks them to raise hands if they want single family homes - many raise their hands. Last time a government went against voters they were removed.
He invites everyone to a school board meeting 3/11/2025 at 6:00pm for receiving feedback on village developments proposals regarding housing.
Looking forward to the library report on 2024. Market place idea in the village center is not good. The perspectives showing the dreamscapes are lovely but deceptive as the space is shown out of proportion. The market is not big enough, won’t work. Not a reason for buying property. The Economic Development Commission were never presented with the information, even though the presentation on 2/17/2025 said they were. Why are you bailing out the Greywolf development company? Why are you dealing with a company that does not board up unsafe buildings? The drawings presented were never updated with resident feedback. There were no workshops. The master planning is incomplete with only 1/3 of the work done at this time. Master planning should reflect the villages’ desire clearly to developers so they give us what we want, not what they think. An abdication of responsibility by the village board for not providing a fully developed master plan. If Trustee Baum recused himself from the vote at the last VB meeting, how was he allowed to perform as chair pro tem. Is that allowed? Hope anyone who went to the meeting after party at Bub’s had a good time.
(President Wolter picks a fight min 26:10.)
Speaker says he missed the after party too. In district 1, concerned about Trustee Baum’s needing to recuse himself from so many of the developments around the village. Has a concern about so much activity from this Trustee on social media and in the Express News regarding these same properties. Apparently, Trustee Baum wrote “TIDs don’t need to be discussed.”
(Link to the edition with the letter here.)
The speaker goes on to read more of the article. President Wolter chimes in with “It’s out of context.” The speaker reiterates what Adminstrator Kreklow said about being reimbursed by a TID for the demolition that does not exist. The president says “It’s not a done deal.”
Speaker wants the hunting to be moved from Goldendale to Wilderness Park.
Min 31:50 Consent agenda. Item D is pulled. They vote on all items except D. Trustee Pieper says that not enough information was provided in the $150K contract for updating the computers with a blanket PO. Trustee Jan Miller agrees with Trustee Pieper and says that they are still receiving background information, not enough to pass the agenda item.
Not all the computers can be upgraded. Trustee Rick Miller amends the motion to postpone until the next village board meeting. They postpone this one.
Min 38:30 Willow Creek property, Briohn wants land conveyed for proper storm drainage solution. Director of planning, Retzlaff presents the item. Passes.
Min 43:40 Setting pay for Chief Merten, Police department. Administrator Kreklow runs through the background and says that Chief Merten’s pay should be roughly $65/hour, or approximately $135K. Passes.
Min 48:10 Flower Source building demolition contract. Administrator Kreklow says the village will close on the contract to purchase the old Flower Source on 3/5/2025.
(ENTIRELY THIS WRITER’S OPINION:
We have never seen a contract for this property purchase. Until the 2/17/2025 Village Board meeting we did not know that the village was looking to purchase it officially. In the Administrators memo for this item on that date, he provided prices for the Flower Source, a vacant property and the Ascension clinic property. The entire visioning process has been a sham given that property contracts are generally six months long, with due diligence periods for investigations, and the closing of the contract at the end. For closing to occur in early March 2025, the original contract to purchase would have had to have been executed sometime in October of 2024. The first visioning session was 11/14/2024 video here. Developers complain about the cost of real estate in Germantown. The village buying property causes costs to go up. This is real estate market distortion funded by taxpayers through deferment of tax revenue in TIDs which means that non-TID areas may or may not receive attention due to the taxes remaining the same but attention being spent on the new shiny project.
While we are promised nice things like Marketplatz’, new baseball diamonds, fishing ponds and ice skating rinks, there is no guarantee that those things will happen. These proposals have many amenities that could be great for Germantown, but because of how the current administration does everything in secret, treating the taxpayers’ as pesky nuisances, and not smart enough to be involved in the process, there are significant doubts about why we should reward any developer with our precious resources.
How many ways can the citizens say “No” to high-density housing and be heard?)
Administrator continues to discuss the problems with the property buildings being vandalized and set on fire. The payment could come from an account set up for redevelopment of the village center, with an eventual reimbursement from the TID.
(The non-existent TID.)
Trustee Kaminski makes a motion to approve the contract.
Trustee Pieper asks about the problems with fires. The administrator says it is difficult to board up. He apparently worked with the previous owner to make the area safer. Trustee Pieper has a problem with Greywolf not covering the cost of demolition, and making the property safer.
Administrator Kreklow says the village had no authority to make them raze the buildings. Contradicted by the attorney. He waffles on about why we would have paid for it anyhow.
Trustee Jan Miller asks why wasn’t it dealt with before, seller’s responsibility.
Trustee Jan Miller asks “How are we paying for the property?”
The price listed in cover memo on 2/17/2025 village board agenda packet as written by Administrator Kreklow. Item D. $1.7M for Flower source, Ascension $5M and vacant property is $700K.
Cash reserves will pay for the closing on vacant property and Flower Source on 3/5/2025.
Ascension to close in June.
Cash reserves has its own accounting within General Fund.
President Wolter jumps in and cuts her off. Trustee Jan Miller continues asking about funding sources for demolition. Approximately $6M or $8M in the cash reserves.
The buildings don’t have the to be demolished now, but the administrator recommends that it be done.
Trustee Jan Miller states that the demolition should be covered by the current owners, Greywolf. She has no confidence that the TID will occur from which the costs may be reimbursed. She makes an amendment for the owner to pay for the demolition.
Trustee Rick Miller compares the demo to a bad roof on a house.
President Wolter asks if an amendment to the contract would be acceptable. Attorney says no.
Trustee Baum wants to pay the bill, and the project is not far enough down the path.
Trustee Kaminski talks about trip wires that keep coming up.
(Hello, Trustee Kaminski, that is because everything is rushed and not vetted in public. Too much is done in secret without proper representation of the taxpayers’ wishes.)
They vote. The amended motion fails.
Trustee Cutts asks about asbestos in the building. The administrator says there will be other expenses related to demolition and they would come back for well and septic closing costs. Also, relandscaping. She also asks about repairing the siren on the Walgreens site should the TID go into effect as the boundaries extend north of the intersection.
Trustee Pieper asks about costs for septic and well closures. Additional costs, not anticipated to be a lot.
Min 1:21:00 The discussion continues with administrator explaining that the $8M reserves came from surpluses in permit and inspection fees.
(Fees are taxes.)
They vote to approve the demolition. It passes, after some back and forth,
Min 1:26:00 Outdoor Entertainment permits. $200 for annual permits. $75 for temporary permits. Passes.
Min 1:27:40 Amendment to allow hunting in Wilderness Park. Trustee Jan Miller asks for clarification about how this is tied to Goldendale Park (not yet a park.) Confusion about what it is between warehouses. Trustee Pieper explains hunting rules and MMSD property. Trustee Kaminski gets testy.
Min 1:39:00 Weights and Measures. Passes.
Min 1:40:15 Secretary of Board of Appeals. Passes.
Min 1:33:00 2024 Annual Library Report. Director of library, Trisha Smith, presents her fabulous report.
The open part of the meeting ends and they go into closed session to discuss the administrator’s performance.