Economic and Community Development Commission Meeting - April 22, 2026
Economic and Community Development Commission Meeting - April 22, 2026
The Economic and Community Development Commission (ECDC) of La Crosse, Wisconsin, met on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 3:02 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey called the meeting to order. Six commissioners were present (Linda Lee, Vicki Markussen, Mary Rohrer, Tamra Dickinson, Erin Goggin, and the Mayor), with one excused (Gina Miller). The meeting adjourned in closed session at 4:35 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting was made by Commissioner Markussen, seconded by Commissioner Lee, and carried on a voice vote. Commissioner Dickinson abstained due to not attending the March meeting.
Discussion Items
- Presentation from Family Friendly Workplaces: Neil Klein, Executive Director of Family Friendly Workplaces, presented on demographic trends affecting the workforce. Key points included: Wisconsin's population is projected to peak in 2020 and then decline through 2050 due to low birth rates and an aging population; the state's total fertility rate has been below the replacement level of 2.1 since 1975; La Crosse County had 17% of its population over age 65 in 2020, projected to reach 22% by 2050; net workforce entrance in Wisconsin is expected to become negative in 2030 (more people leaving than entering the workforce). Klein outlined three timeframes: immediate (recruitment/retention through employer certification), medium (talent attraction to make Wisconsin a premier destination for raising families), and long-term (early childhood development to build non-cognitive skills). Commissioners asked about on-the-job training and the concentration of aging populations in northern Wisconsin.
- Recap of BLACK's ARPA Funded Project: Terrell Mallet and Antoina Williams from BLACK (Black Leaders Acquire Collective Knowledge) presented on their $50,000 ARPA-funded program to support small business owners. The program ran two six-week cohorts serving 30 businesses, with about half completing all requirements. Grants of $1,300–$2,000 were distributed to assist with startup costs, rent, and inventory. Highlighted businesses included Thomas Nichols (Vesorix, a 3D camera attachment) and Mia's food truck. Speakers emphasized the need for continued funding, partnership with organizations like SCORE, and more incubator space in the city. Mayor Washington-Spivey noted challenges with business placement and costs.
- Introduction of TIF Applicant – Bridgeview Plaza: Jake Buzzwell of Eagle Bay Properties/Three Amigos presented a redevelopment plan for Bridgeview Plaza, a gateway site on the north side. Phase 1: Demolish existing structures and build a 101-unit apartment building with 94 interior parking stalls and 60 surface stalls, plus 25,000 sq ft of repurposed commercial space in the existing Blue Zone. Unit mix: 42 one-bedroom, 12 one-bedroom+den, 42 two-bedroom, 7 three-bedroom. Phase 2: A 100-unit building along Rose Street with 95 interior parking stalls and ~2,000 sq ft of commercial space. Unit mix: 8 studio, 42 one-bedroom, 4 one-bedroom+den, 38 two-bedroom, 8 three-bedroom. Challenges include a high water table (2 feet below grade) and poor soil requiring geo-piers. The developer hopes to break ground in summer 2026, with each building taking about 18 months. Commissioners asked about zoning, traffic, existing tenants, and aesthetics.
- Consideration of Preliminary Term Sheet for RyKey Properties – Lot 11, River Point District: Lee from RyKey Properties presented a project for a 60-unit market-rate building on Lot 11 (1.1 acres, separated from Lot 12 for a restaurant). Units: 6 hybrid one-bedroom (~570 sq ft), 17 standard one-bedroom (650–725 sq ft), 31 two-bedroom, and 3 three-bedroom lofted units with private balconies. Parking: 24 structured interior stalls and 31 surface stalls. Amenities include a golf simulator, fitness center, and coffee bar. Challenges cited: compromised soils requiring geo-piers, a vapor mitigation system ($80,000–$150,000), and market volatility. The proposed TIF assistance: $2.656 million in an 85% pay-as-you-go rebate over 20 years, with a guaranteed project assessed value of $8.522 million and guaranteed construction cost of $13.5 million, plus a land sale price of $275,000 for the 1.1 acres. Lee noted that 50% of the units in their recently completed Lot 8 building have already been leased, indicating strong demand. The committee then moved into closed session to discuss negotiation strategies.
Key Outcomes
- Approved minutes from the previous meeting (voice vote, Dickinson abstaining).
- Received presentations and updates from Family Friendly Workplaces and BLACK; no action taken.
- Heard introduction of the Bridgeview Plaza TIF application; no action taken.
- Approved the preliminary term sheet for RyKey Properties' Lot 11 development (motion by Commissioner Goggin, seconded by Commissioner Markussen, carried by voice vote after closed session).
- Moved to closed session (motion by Commissioner Lee, seconded by Commissioner Dickinson, unanimous) to discuss negotiation parameters for the RyKey term sheet, and adjourned in closed session at 4:35 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. We are going to call this meeting to order at 302 PM on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026. We have one commissioner out. She is excused, and everyone else is present, and we do have quorum. I'll take an approval of the minutes from I gave you my sheet that had the date. The last meeting. Right, fill in the blink. Is there a motion? Motion made by co commissioner Marcus and second by Commissioner Lee. Any discussion. I will be abstaining since I was not at that meeting. All right, Council President will be abstaining. Um see no other discussion. All in favor, please signify by saying aye or raising of the hand. All right. Any nays. That motion passes. Go on to our first agenda item 260446 presentation from family friendly workplaces, which the City of Lacrosse is one, so I just want to, you know, screw our own horn about that. But Julie. Um yeah, so we've invited, I invited Neil Klein, who's the executive director of family friendly workplaces to come here and to present on this topic. He actually I heard him present last month um at the Chambers Workforce Innovation Series event, and he just does a really excellent job of um connecting our shifting demographics to the impact we anticipate it's gonna have on our workforce, things we can do to address that, and of course how family friendly communities play into that. Um so he I did ask him on somewhat short notice, so he's coming uh joining us remotely um instead of in person, but he's online. So Neil, if you want to go ahead and share your screen and get started. You bet I will uh fight find my way here. It would not be a modern meeting if someone didn't narrate while they tried to share their screen. Um I really appreciate the opportunity uh to talk with everyone here today and to present to the commission about uh family friendly workplaces and um and everything that we're up to. Uh I will be brief and I will move as quickly as I can so that we can try and have time for questions. Um you are correct, the City of Lacrosse is a certified family-friendly workplace. Um so it's Amplify Health, State Bank Financial, and Trust Point to name a couple more employers in the LaCrosse area that have become certified as a family-friendly workplace. I always like to start these presentations out by talking about what we at Family Friendly Workplaces really believe, which is that um family is central not only to the individuals that make up those families, but to the communities that are built from those families. And so if we can strengthen family, we have an opportunity to positively impact um both sides of that spectrum, you know, the folks that are in those families and the communities that are built from them. And we work through employers, um, really for two reasons. The first is that employers touch a lot of lives. So if you think about beyond kind of the concept of covered lives um in health insurance or something like that, the number of people, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents, cousins that are connected to a job, um, let's just say at the city of La Crosse, um, is actually pretty big. And so if we can strengthen the benefits that those families receive and strengthen those families, we can impact a lot of folks. The other reason is because we have a workforce shortage. And so I'm gonna fly through some data that I went through with the chamber to try and help provide some color about that workforce shortage. And I start at the top. So this is a projection of Wisconsin's total population that is developed by the Department of Administration. And you'll notice that in 2020, the Department of Administration projects that Wisconsin's total population will peak and will be in kind of this soft decline through the projection window, which is out into 2050. This is unique for us to be operating in this kind of a demographic environment. And the two things that the demographers at DOA look at when they make this presentation when they do this forecast is the number of expected births and then the number of expected deaths. So there's not any other evaluation that's included. They're not looking at in-or-out migration, people moving here or moving away, none of that, just births and deaths. And so what I what I would like to do is just zoom in on kind of both ends of that spectrum. And I'm gonna start with this map. This is a DOA map, and what it shows is the percentage of each county's population that is over the age of 65 in the year shown. So this is in 2020. Uh so if you look at LaCrosse County, the way to read this would be this to see that 17% of La Crosse County's population is gonna be over the age of 65 in 2020, or was in 2020. And for our world, that's relevant because if you're over the age of 65, um, I joke it's it's feed up in margarita time, right?
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