Woodstock City Council Meeting - July 21, 2026

The Woodstock City Council met on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers, with Mayor Turner presiding and all seven council members present. The council approved a consent agenda that included the establishment of a new Tax Increment Financing district (TIF #3), then separately debated and unanimously approved the $350,000 purchase of 200 E. Judd Street. All agenda votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

• Approved unanimously: June 30, 2026 special meeting minutes; warrants #4204-#4206; Historic Preservation Commission minutes from June 15, 2026; Plan Commission minutes from June 18, 2026; and Manager's Report No. 297 commission appointments.
• Manager's Report No. 297 ordinances and resolutions approved in the consent block included:
  • Deleting certain property from TIF #2 so the parcels could be added to proposed TIF #3.
  • Three ordinances establishing the Downtown Gateway and Station Area Redevelopment Project Area #3 (TIF #3): approval of the redevelopment plan, designation of the project area, and adoption of tax increment financing.
  • A site agreement with Verizon Wireless for telecommunication equipment on the McConnell Road Water Tower.
  • Acquisition of the property at 200 E. Judd Street (removed for separate vote).
  • Repeal of the amended and restated redevelopment agreement with KEBB CS-WK for the Downtown Hotel Project.
  • A zoning map amendment and Special Use Permit Planned Unit Development for Legacy Village.
  • An Otis Elevator Company contract to modernize the City Hall elevator for $141,343 plus a $20,000 cab interior upgrade, for a total of $161,343, with 90% prepayment authorized to secure a 3% discount.
  • A Midwest Well Services contract for Well #13 Phase 2 pumping equipment and Well #11 abandonment, not to exceed $330,512.
  • A Joint Funding Agreement for the Melody Lane Bridge Replacement Project and a Baxter & Woodman Phase II engineering services agreement not to exceed $154,353.

Public Comments & Testimony

• A resident, addressed by the Mayor as Mr. Francis, spoke during floor discussion against the city's use of Flock Safety automatic license plate readers. He cited contract cancellations by UW-Madison Police, the Los Angeles Police Department, and other jurisdictions, and noted that South Portland, Maine's City Council voted 5-2 to end use of Flock devices even though its contract ran to February 2027. He also stated that a friend's Freedom of Information Act request found that Flock Safety had no Woodstock audit logs prior to January 1, 2026, despite company claims of transparency and immutable audit logs. He said no response had been received from Mayor Turner or Councilmen Hansen, Nearman, or Seegers.

Council Comments

• Councilman Tom Flynn said he voted for the license plate readers because, in a Northwest Herald report about a girl abducted from a bike and sexually assaulted, Flock license plate readers helped catch the perpetrator. He also thanked the city on behalf of the Gavers Cancer Community Foundation for the 26th annual Barn Dance, reporting record-breaking live auction and bucket raffle totals, and noted the foundation has raised well over $11 million to date with zero paid employees and 100% of profits funding cancer research.
• Councilwoman Natalie Ziemba thanked the Woodstock Fireworks Foundation, city staff, Woodstock Fire Rescue District, Woodstock PD, vendors, volunteers, and donors for a well-attended July 4th fireworks event despite rainy weather, noting the event celebrated 250 years of U.S. independence.
• The Mayor and another council member echoed thanks for the Barn Dance and July 4th events.

Discussion Items

• TIF #3 overview (D3): At Councilman Nearman's request, City Manager Roscoe Stelford and staff member Jessica explained the three ordinances required by statute to establish TIF #3. The project area includes the DICAS site, the public works site, and surrounding neighborhoods. Because the city owns the vast majority of the property, the base EAV is effectively zero, meaning new development at the DICAS site would be 100% captured by the TIF. State law reserves 25% of the additional increment to help offset school district costs for students new to the district, reduced by state aid. The Mayor added that TIF does not increase property taxes and that TIF #2 currently generates about $1.2 million in additional revenue each year and is growing.
• 200 E. Judd Street acquisition (D5): Councilman Bob Seegers removed D5 from the consent calendar for separate debate. City staff confirmed the parcel is zoned B2C downtown business; multifamily development up to 25 units is permitted, with a special use required above that. Seegers said he was "on the struggle bus" because the city already owns a substantial inventory of vacant property, TIF #2 is in a deficit position, and recent road, courthouse, Route 47, and other projects have increased debt service. Mayor Turner and city staff responded that the city has held its bond rating, the budget is more than $90 million, the purchase can be funded, and city ownership of strategically located property helps attract developers. Landowner Tom Wilson, speaking from the gallery, said he bought the property, paid cash, spent over $1 million cleaning it up, and turned down higher offers he believed would bring bad development; he offered it to the city for $350,000. Several council members supported the purchase as completing a strategic downtown puzzle, while acknowledging the need for fiscal caution.

Key Outcomes

• The consent agenda, items A through D10 with the exception of D5, was approved unanimously on a single roll-call vote.
• D5, the ordinance authorizing acquisition of 200 E. Judd Street from Hardwire Investments, LLC for $350,000 using TIF #2 funds, was approved unanimously after separate discussion.
• All consent contracts were approved, including the $161,343 Otis elevator modernization, the $330,512 Well #13 Phase 2 contract, and the $154,353 Melody Lane Bridge Phase II engineering agreement.
• The meeting adjourned to the next regular meeting on August 4, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.