| Woodman's is no AIG or Fannie Mae |
|
Woodman's Grocery is no AIG or Fannie Mae
Menomonee Falls - Village President Candidate Jefferson E. Davis today called on current Village Elected and Appointed Officials to find a way to say "yes" for Woodman's Grocery to be welcomed to Menomonee Falls instead of the obstacles that are being put in their way.
Davis is running for the Open Seat of Village President as the current office holder is stepping down after 4 years. His opponent is Randy Newman and the Election is Tuesday, April 7th.
Woodman's (http://www.woodmans-food.com/) is the highly successful employee owned grocery retailer who currently has 12 stores in Northern Illinois and throughout Wisconsin. They have developed a business model that has a unique market niche that has been met with open arms wherever they go.
According to Woodman's vice president of real estate, Bret Backus, they have been negotiating for 3 years on the purchase of property in Menomonee Falls at the corner of 124th Street/Bradley Road and Hwy 41/45.
Woodman's wants to build a 238,000-square foot store on 33.4 acres and open the store in the fall of 2010.
In calling for a way to say "yes" to welcome Woodman's to Menomonee Falls Davis said,
"With severe recessionary times facing Menomonee Falls, Woodman's would be an excellent addition to our tax base and job opportunities as well as expanding our commerce and retail options.
With so many businesses laying off employees, closing their doors and actually leaving town, why would my opponent (http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/41524122.html) and the current Village President along with his fellow Planning Commission Members (http://www.menomoneefallsnow.com/news/39362877.html) try to tell this incredibly successful business where to put their store?
Officials using code words of "where" or "there?" or "impact" or "more study" or "zoned" or "wish list" or "where we think" or "it may be a good location for you, but" for where the Village wants Woodman's to put their business is wrong and as long as Woodman's meets the criteria set out by the Village to domicile a business in the Falls, they should be able to put their store anywhere they want to.
Woodman's has no doubt spent thousands of dollars on many different studies that show them this is where their store will have the greatest impact and the biggest return on their investment for them.
Woodman's is not operated like an AIG or Fannie Mae that needs the government to tell them how to run their business and they are not looking for a handout.
Woodman's didn't get to the place where they are because they developed a bad business model and cut corners to benefit the few.
No, Woodman's got to be where they are because they have an excellent business model and know what it takes to be successful without the government telling them how to run their business.
One of the Woodman's Stores in Madison is worth nearly $13 million and pays nearly $250,000 in taxes each year (http://accessdane.co.dane.wi.us/html/parcelinfo.asp?ParcelNumber=070825301024&ParcelID=11071891).
What would Menomonee Falls do with an immediate extra $250,000 or maybe even more? That would and should lower everyone else's tax burden not to mention all of the new jobs that would be created with the opening of the new store.
Menomonee Falls Village Government should not be telling this highly successful company where to put their business or more companies will move to Germantown or even further out if my opponent and the other Village leaders keep this up.
TIF District 5 (Main Street/124th Street/41-45) was started in 1999 and has $12 million remaining in debt service through 2018. TIF 5 borders the area where Woodman's wants to locate their store and has a bond payment of $2.5 million due this year with only $595,000 coming in as revenue from the current occupants of the TIF District that is probably more than half empty.
With Woodman's locating next to TIF District 5, it is hopeful this would spur more economic growth for the Village and benefit everyone including the taxpayers who floated the bonds for TIF District 5 to begin with in 1999.
Woodman's has deadlines and profit margins to meet as a for profit corporation. Let's not delay their plans any longer because a handful of government officials have a "wish list" that might interest them, but not the community at large."
The Davis for President Volunteer Campaign is hosting Voter VIP Meetings at John Harbor's Public Coffee House (N88 W16521 Main Street) in downtown Menomonee Falls as follows:
Wednesday, March 25th, 7:00-9:00 P.M.
Saturday, March 28th, 9:30-11:00 A.M.
The Voter VIP Meetings are open to anyone and are not scripted, edited or filtered. There will be no time limits and anyone can ask any question they want.
Jefferson's opponent has been invited to attend to meet the voters.
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
414-750-6785
March 24, 2009 |