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Falling sales-tax revenues. An onslaught of vacant storefronts. When your state economy is based on growth, and the national economy goes in the tank, these are the dangers. According to yesterday’s Arizona Republic:

By late next year, more than 75 stores are expected to close, resulting in a loss of nearly 2,000 Arizona retail jobs. The turnover likely will offer shoppers bargains at various going-out-of-business sales and could eventually inspire an influx of newer, trendier stores. But the closures also have city officials scrambling to cover revenue shortfalls and deter commercial blight.

While Wal-Mart may be able to absorb the cost of closed stores and their leases, cities and towns are left dealing with empty buildings that can lead to a rise in crime and vandalism, the lowering of property values, and depressed sales for neighboring retailers when the closed store is the anchor for a strip mall. And for states like Arizona, a drop in sales tax revenue. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has pointed out that some cities, such as Oakdale, California, or Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, require retail developers set aside money that can be used by the city to either demolish or maintain the site should the store or shopping center become vacant.

Some cities, like Mesa, Arizona, aren’t so lucky.

The shell of a former Walmart sits 2 miles from a Kmart that will close in January. A Mervyn’s and Circuit City will soon depart the area. Such losses this year contributed to Mesa’s $62 million budget shortfall. The city announced 315 layoffs last month.

Cities try to cope with shortfalls in sales taxes, blight left by shut stores [Arizona Republic]

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Recall effort may be called off [Muskego Now (Wis.)]

Efforts to recall 7th District Alderman Noah Fiedler seem to be losing steam. The decision to give up may be made yet this week, Janet Napientek of the Muskego First group said Aug. 4.

Debra Prusinski, who filed the request for the recall, said she hasn’t been out seeking signatures on the petition in the past week and continued efforts are up to Napientek.

“I don’t think the recall effort will really do much good,” Prusinski said.

The deadline to turn in the papers with the required 426 signatures is Aug. 26. Napientek said this week she would take the next few days to think about whether or not she wants to continue the recall. She has 117 signatures on the petition and thought Prusinski had a maximum of about 50.

The recall was sparked by Fiedler’s Plan Commission vote in favor of approving the new Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Prusinski said in a July 31 phone call she is unhappy with the press coverage of the recall efforts. Fiedler questioned Prusinski’s 7th District residency and if she could legally file for the recall.

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Development groups weigh impact of verdict [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Wisc.)]

A state Supreme Court ruling that a Beaver Dam economic development group is a quasi-governmental organization and must obey the state’s open meetings and open records laws has been hailed as a victory for open government and criticized as a threat to economic development.

The Beaver Dam Area Development Corp. secretly negotiated for months in 2003 with Wal-Mart to build a $55 million, 1.2-million-square-foot distribution center on about 400 acres north of the city. The group negotiated zoning changes, water service, fire protection and other items, including $6.18 million in incentives.

Those details did not become public until the City Council approved without discussion a 13-page memorandum of understanding with Wal-Mart.

Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, called the 4-2 decision “a good ruling,” saying the development agency “had no legitimate right to claim that it was exempt” from the open meetings and records laws.

Jim Hough, a consultant to the Wisconsin Economic Development Association, said “there’s not a lot of guidance” in the court’s decision, which held that whether a group is quasi-governmental needs to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

“This case has left everybody confused,” Hough said.

“It’s hard to provide legal advice in light of that decision. It’s difficult, if not impossible.”

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Wal-Mart extends land agreement [Spooner Advocate (Wisc.)]

Wal-Mart was granted yet more land sale extensions, its seventh and eighth, on Tuesday, July 15, by the Washburn County Board of Supervisors, extending by a year the deadline for purchasing 35 acres of county land for a proposed 100,000-square-foot Supercenter at the northwest corner of the Cty. Hwy. H and Hwy. 53 intersection in Spooner.

The Fortune 100 retailer, the largest retailer in the world, will pay $30,000 for each of the two six-month extensions. Wal-Mart’s current agreement with the county will expire Aug. 12.

Wal-Mart has asked for the extensions to give it enough time to finalize a developers agreement with the city of Spooner and to acquire all the permits it needs from the city, Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT), and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). A broker working with Wal-Mart said the permits from the DOT could take another three to six months to obtain.

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Earlier this week, Wisconsin Public Radio hosted a discussion on state budget shortfalls, tax avoidance, and ways for states to make up lost revenue:

With the recent Wisconsin budget shortfall, lawmakers are examining ways to increase revenue. After nine, John Munson and his guests discuss the impact of corporate tax loopholes and how stopping them could help fix the state budget. Guests:
- Russ Decker, Wisconsin Senator (D-Schofield).
- Michael Mazerov, Senior Fellow, State Fiscal Project, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Washington, DC.

Check out the podcast. Wisconsin is currently one of the states that has gone after companies like Wal-Mart for avoiding corporate income tax, so the discussion is especially relevant there.

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Development corporation subject to open meetings [Associated Press via Chicago Tribune]

The state Supreme Court rules a Beaver Dam economic group is subject to Wisconsin’s open meetings and records laws.

The court said Friday an entity is a quasi-governmental body and subject to those laws if it closely resembles a government corporation, but that a determination should be made on a case-by-case basis.

A citizens group has alleged the Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation negotiated secretly with Wal-Mart to bring a $55 million distribution center to the city.

The Supreme Court says the corporation is funded exclusively by tax dollars, its office was located in the municipal building, it was listed on the city’s Web site and the city gave the group clerical support and office supplies.

The court declined to punish the group, however. Attorneys for the group didn’t immediately return messages.

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Recall organizers gathering signatures [MuskegoNOW (Wisc.)]

Muskego First Treasurer Janet Napientek said the recall effort against 7th District Alderman Noah Fiedler is back on track.

Seventh District resident Debra Prusinski on June 27 filed paperwork with the city that allows her to circulate a petition to force a recall election.

Napientek said Prusinski is not a Muskego First member but had attended a public meeting on the Wal-Mart development. Muskego First is targeting Fiedler for recall because of his vote in favor of a 24-hour Wal-Mart. Prusinski was not available for comment.

Prusinski must collect 429 signatures from fellow 7th District residents by Aug. 26. Earlier this month, Napientek collected signatures for a recall petition, but she later learned her efforts were invalid because she resides in the 2nd District. Napientek said she had collected about 250 signatures from roughly half the district’s households.

Napientek garnered 23 signatures last weekend without much time spent canvassing the district. Her plans are to get out more this week and hit the same areas where she had gotten signatures the first time.

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Neighbors worry Wal-Mart will add to flooding woes [Muskego Now (Wisc.)]

The recent heavy rains have left residents in the Glenbrook subdivision even more worried the construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter to the west of them will mean extensive flooding for their neighborhood in the future.

But Muskego Mayor John Johnson said the Glenbrook subdivision, south of College Avenue and about a half mile east of Moorland Road, is getting water from a farm field to the west and additional flow from New Berlin to the north.

With the drainage ponds Wal-Mart will have to install, neighbors might find flows from the west actually will be less, Johnson said.

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Zoning for Wal-Mart advances in Cudahy [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Wisc.)]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. hopes to begin construction by spring 2009 on a Supercenter proposed for Cudahy following a Plan Commission vote that recommended zoning approval for the development.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Lisa Nelson said Wednesday that if construction begins in spring, the combined supermarket-discount store would likely open in the spring of 2010.

The 138,000-square-foot Supercenter would be part of an $11.5 million project proposed by Continental Properties Co. The development would include an indoor soccer training academy operated by the Milwaukee Wave soccer team.

The development would be on the site of the failed Iceport project, a 26-acre tract south of E. Layton Ave. between S. Nicholson Ave. and Sweet Applewood Lane.

The Plan Commission Tuesday night granted zoning approval for the Continental project on a 4-3 vote, reversing its May 5 vote against the project.

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Wal-Mart Wars: Too high a price to pay

Patrick Cudahy, founder of Cudahy, had a dream to create a thriving city. In fact, he believed in his meatpacking plant so much that he bought 700 acres to achieve this goal and offered quality jobs with livable wages to his employees.

Now, more than 100 years later, Wal-Mart wants to sneak into Cudahy under the guise of “creating” new jobs, but at a cost of $6 million from Cudahy taxpayers. Developing the Wal-Mart in Cudahy would cost $11.5 million, which means taxpayers would be responsible for more than half of the cost, according to CudahyNOW.com. It’s amazing that a company with revenue of $256 billion wants to pass the buck onto the community.

Now, I don’t live in Cudahy, but I can only imagine the reason some residents may support Wal-Mart is they think the superstore would create jobs. No one can argue this. Yes, Wal-Mart would need cashiers, stockers and managers to staff the store. But are these good jobs?

First, let’s take a look at the jobs Wal-Mart will create. According to Wakeupwalmart.com, the average associate earned $9.68 an hour in 2005, making the annual wage $17,114. Considering the average two-person family (one parent and one child) needed $27,948 to meet basic needs in 2005, the average Wal-Mart worker isn’t making ends meet.

Added to that, the average associate would need to spend between 7% and 25% of his or her income just to cover the health care premiums and deductibles, if electing for single coverage. It’s no wonder that, according Wakeupwalmart.com, 27% of associates’ children are on public assistance programs such as Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

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Muskego group plans recalls over Wal-Mart [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Wisc.)]

A citizens group opposed to plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the city’s northern end has organized a political action committee to begin the recall process against several aldermen.

Muskego First filed preliminary paperwork this week to form the Muskego Exploratory Recall Committee and plans to refile today with the names of those they hope to recall, Muskego First co-coordinator John Walters said Thursday.

“The citizens have had enough here in Muskego,” Walters said.

The city’s Plan Commission approved plans Tuesday for a 156,400-square-foot retail center and grocery after a contentious meeting that featured residents speaking for and against Wal-Mart. Opponents frequently clashed with Mayor John Johnson.

The Supercenter will be located off Moorland Road near College Ave., across the street from the future GE Healthcare distribution center. The commission voted 6-1 in favor of the proposal, after adding a six-month review of the thornier issues, including the 24-hour operations.

“We have absolutely no say-so in the process,” Walters said. “We have not been asked to participate, to review, to partake in discussion. . . . We’re not going to allow it.”

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Wal-Mart store wins approval [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Wisc.)]

Plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the northern end of the city will move forward after the city’s Plan Commission approved the contentious project Tuesday night.

Commissioners reserved the right to review some of its thornier issues, including the Supercenter’s 24-hour operations, six months after its opening.

Wal-Mart’s plans call for a 156,400-square-foot retail center and grocery off Moorland Road near College Ave. The Supercenter, which will be across the street from the future GE Healthcare distribution center, will bring 320 jobs to the area.

After a raucous public hearing - in which both sides frequently veered off-topic, drawing the reprimand of Mayor John Johnson - commissioner Jerald Hulbert was the lone vote against the plan, citing his concerns with the store staying open 24 hours a day.

Ald. Noah Fiedler said he always hears from residents that Muskego needs more commercial development. So he felt it was a good idea to be more business friendly up front and let Wal-Mart stay open 24 hours initially.

“If they screw it up, we’ll hear about it,” Fiedler said.

The public hearing, intended to give residents another chance to weigh in on building, site and operational issues, clocked in at nearly two hours, and Johnson frequently had to remind residents to stay on topic and quiet shouts from the audience.

Many residents opposed to the Wal-Mart plans wore bright yellow stickers - the iconic Wal-Mart smiley face frowning. Those in opposition expressed a wealth of concerns, including traffic, noise, crime and environmental impact.

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Large crowd likely for hearing on proposed Wal-Mart [My Muskego Now (Wisc.)]

Opponents and proponents of a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter will have a chance to speak their minds before the Muskego Plan Commission on Tuesday, June 3.

In anticipation of a large crowd, the public hearing will be in the old cafeteria at Muskego High School. The commission will take up the item on its regular agenda that night.

“They can approve it,” Adam Trzebiatowski, associate planner for the city, said. “Or, if they have more concerns, they can delay or deny it.”

If the commission does approve the plans it will be the last formal meeting Wal-Mart representatives have to attend to get city approval, Trzebiatowski said. The property, on the east side of Moorland Road south of College Avenue, will not need rezoning and no conditional-use permit will be needed.

Revised plans expected
If approved, Wal-Mart officials still will have to obtain building permits from the city and work with other levels of government for improvements on Moorland Road. The city Planning Department was expecting Wal-Mart to bring in revised plans late last week, Trzebiatowski said.

At the last Plan Commission meeting, commissioners had criticized the back of the store for its plain design, which gave it a big-box look. A line of trees, which would screen the 152,000-square-foot building from neighbors to the east, was said to need filling out with evergreen trees to provide year-round screening.

Commissioners also voiced concern about shielding neighbors in the Glenbrook subdivision from lights and loading dock noise.

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Wal-Mart referendum proposed [Washburn County Register (Wisc.)]

The recent news of Wal-Mart continuing its plans to build a store in Spooner, after months of speculation the company had backed out, brought concerned citizens to the Spooner City Council meeting Tuesday, May 6, in city hall.

During public comment, Larry Colby, Spooner, spoke first. He said that, in light of a developer’s agreement possibly being passed by the city soon, that he had some concerns a Wal-Mart might not bring in the revenue expected, among other things. Colby said he wanted the city to make the best deal possible, and had found a developer’s agreement between the city of Monona and Wal-Mart, when a store went into the town, that outlines conditions fully for the developer’s responsibilities. Colby said this agreement was a good example of what the city should follow when working with Wal-Mart. There were detailed conditions for the traffic impact, storm water control, municipal services, charitable activity and elderly transit contribution. Colby gave the council copies of the agreement and asked they make sure they get the right information from Wal-Mart.

Incidentally, Wal-Mart’s public affairs representative Lisa Nelson was on the Monona City Council from 1998-2006.

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Public will have say on Wal-Mart Supercenter plan [Muskego Now (Wisc.)]

Though the Muskego Plan Commission liked the plans presented for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on May 6, no action was taken pending a public hearing on the proposal and some tweaking of the design by the giant retailer.

Muskego Plan Director Jeff Muenkel said it was likely the hearing would be scheduled at the June 3 commission meeting. Commissioners had some concerns about the rear façade of the building.
New Wal-Mart prototype

Though the architect for the project, Richard Hayes, described the proposed building as a trendsetting design that future Wal-Marts will be patterned after, commissioners worried the back of the building could be a problem for the residential neighborhood to the east.

The Wal-Mart Supercenter is planned for the east side of Moorland Road, south of College Avenue. Objections were raised about the possibility of noise from trucks or air-conditioning equipment, landscape screening and the straight lines of the rear architecture.

“It looks like the back of a big-box store,” commissioner Russ Stinebaugh said, adding he would like to see updated plans from Wal-Mart before any approvals are granted. “We hope it will go up and not be objectionable to neighbors, but I’d like to know that for sure.”

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Muskego panel delays action on Wal-Mart [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisc.)]

Plan commissioners delayed action on a site plan for a Wal-Mart Supercenter near Moorland Road and College Ave. after raising concerns about sound, the design and landscaping.

Wal-Mart is proposing to build a 156,400-square-foot retail building on a site off Moorland Road across the street from a future GE Healthcare distribution center.

The proposed Supercenter would operate 24 hours a day and bring 320 jobs to the area, said Deborah Tomczyk, an attorney representing Wal-Mart.

The building would feature a new design, said Richard Hayes, director of architecture for pb2 Architecture & Engineering of Chicago. The building’s three entrances would be enclosed in glass and stretch about 30 feet high. Canopies would cover sidewalks and public areas.

But plan commissioners expressed concerns that the building needed additional refinement. Commissioner Noah Fiedler said noise from the building could be a problem along the property’s south side.

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Residents group fights Wal-Mart in Muskego [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Wisc.)]

A community group has organized to fight a proposal for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the northern end of the city in advance of a Plan Commission meeting tonight, which will discuss whether the proposal meets the zoning requirements and the character of the area off Moorland Road just south of College Ave.

At a presentation for the community last week at Muskego High School, Wal-Mart officials said Muskego should look at the benefits of a store in the city: Other businesses watch where Wal-Mart goes and often want to build in the shadow of the corporate giant. People would spend their money in Muskego rather than in Wal-Marts outside the community. The biggest employer in the state would bring jobs to the community, pay taxes, and contribute to the area philanthropically.

But many people at the meeting and afterward questioned the amount of traffic the store would create on nearby College Ave. and Moorland Road. Others were wary of the store because they thought it would require more police protection and contribute to the downfall of local businesses.

Resident John Walters said he wanted to see a comprehensive environmental plan from Wal-Mart and another traffic study of the area performed by an independent third party.

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Wal-Mart proposal gets mixed reaction [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Despite a proposal that showed a parking lot filled with trees and the promise of more jobs for area residents, many people Thursday night booed a corporate presentation by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which wants to build a Supercenter on the outskirts of the city near I-43.

Wal-Mart officials want to build a 156,400-square-foot retail center and grocery on a site off Moorland Road and across the street from what will be a GE Healthcare distribution center. The project would bring 320 jobs to the area.

Lisa Nelson, a senior Wal-Mart manager for public affairs, said there’s been “leakage” from the Muskego area to other area Wal-Marts.

“So, rather than have customers leave and go elsewhere, why not have them come to Muskego and spend their money here?” she said.

Building engineers touted the green features the Muskego store would include, such as skylights for “daylight harvesting” and freezer lights that remain off until they detect movement.

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Wal-Mart looking at Muskego for store site [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Wisc.)]

The Supercenter would be east of S. Moorland Road and south of W. College Ave., Wal-Mart spokeswoman Lisa Nelson said Monday. It would be just across Moorland Road from a 485,000-square-foot distribution center being built for GE Healthcare.

The 152,000-square-foot Supercenter would be built on roughly 16 acres. Wal-Mart plans to hire 300 to 325 full- and part-time employees for the store, Nelson said.

The Muskego store would be the second Wal-Mart Supercenter in Waukesha County, and it highlights the continued growth of Wal-Mart in the supermarket industry.

In the Milwaukee area, Wal-Mart operates Supercenters in Mukwonago, Germantown, Hartford, West Bend, Burlington and Sturtevant.

The company plans to expand two discount stores, on Milwaukee’s south side and in Franklin, into Supercenters, and it is seeking zoning approval to build new Supercenters in Cudahy and Saukville.

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Letters: Not everyone is happy new Wal-Mart is open [Sheboygan Press (Wisc.)]

We are happy that Linda Weber of the Town of Sheboygan, quoted on the front page of the Saturday, March 8 Sheboygan Press is so thrilled with Wal- Mart in her neighborhood.

Unfortunately she is not the only Linda Weber in the Town of Sheboygan. This Weber family is not as thrilled.

We are not happy with the added traffic on county Highway J, the purchasing practices of Wal-Mart, or the fact that three Wal-Mart Supercenters in the county seems to be excessive.

Frankly we avoid Wal-Mart like the plague.

LINDA and TOM WEBER