Wausau City Hall. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Tuesday’s vote by the Wausau City Council to uphold Mayor Doug Diny’s veto of a proposed land deal became a moot point about one hour before the meeting.
As the Council took up the matter, Mayor Doug Diny announced that 17-year-old Gunther Nowak had emailed staff to withdraw his proposal to build duplexes on three parcels of land, including one that would be owner-occupied, as part of a deal to purchase the property from the city for $1,000. Alders still took up the discussion anyway, with many questioning a lack of answers to basic questions about the project and who was behind it.
Alder Becky McElhaney said her push came after some residents began asking questions regarding the developer’s income qualifications, their initial $250,000 loan, and how much that capital would build. “We know housing is expensive. I checked with builders, [asked] ‘what is the least amount you could build a duplex for?’ When I got that answer, I was like ‘none of this is making sense.’ That’s why I questioned.”
She doesn’t think that anyone on staff had bad intentions, but she does want her residents to know that she’s trying. “Do I think there were improprieties? No. But it is best to have this out in the open so we can prove to the residents that there were none.
“Let me tell you, the calls I got even before [the story broke] said there was an issue,” added McElhaney.
Diny said the situation serves as a reminder of what the city went through seven years ago when Mike Frantz promised what was to be the first apartments in the Riverlife neighborhood. A project that stalled when Frantz failed to pay contractors, leaving behind an empty foundation and millions in unpaid bills. “The city made the contractor whole on that, it cost the city $3 million because we didn’t properly vet [the contractor.] Staff promised the Council that it would never again fail to properly vet a developer, yet here we are again in an unvetted situation.”
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Diny says checking things like the developer’s identity, financing, and track record are crucial to completing these projects, and no 17-year-old would meet those qualifications. “I would imagine that would be difficult to find, and I would hope we would all agree that we should not be clearing a 17-year-old as a developer.”
He added that there is an internal investigation into how the Community Development office managed to open negotiations with Nowak, although he was not old enough to enter into an enforceable contract. He says that’s a step to winning back the trust of the Council and the residents. “We will report back to the Council on what we find and what the recommendations are. If it requires SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) or checklists, we will put [those] in place.
“We need to regain [trust] because I think we did lose a little bit here. It is irresponsible to not face that and recognize it,” he added.
Alders voted 9-1 to uphold the veto, with Alder Sarah Watson excused from Tuesday’s meeting.
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