Advisory — Green Bay, WI
Date: 2014-05-19
Time: 17:00

MINUTES
 ADVISORY COMMITTEE
 Monday, May 19, 2014
 City Hall, Room 203
 5:00 p.m.

Members Present: Ald. Tom DeWane, Ald. Mark Steuer, Ald. Jerry Wiezbiskie, Ald. Andy
Nicholson, Ald. Guy Zima, Ald. Chris Wery, and Ald. Brian Danzinger (arrived late)

Others Present: Ald. Tim DeWane, Ald. Dave Nennig, Ald. Randy Scannell, Ald. Joe
Moore, Asst. City Attorney Jim Mueller, Chief of Staff Andy Rosendahl, and members of
the media.

 1. Call to order.
The meeting was called to order by Council President, Tom DeWane at 5:00 pm. All
members were present with the exception of Ald. Danzinger whom would be arriving late
due to his work schedule.

  2. Approval of the agenda.
Motion and second were made to approve the agenda. Motion carried.

 3. Discuss Walmart design plan on N. Broadway with possible action.

Ald. DeWane stated that he brought this forward because he has heard several times
that aldermen and some constituents haven’t seen Walmart’s full plan. He said Walmart
will be giving a presentation on their most recent plan and those who have signed up to
speak will be allowed to ask questions relating to the plan, and only questions that pertain
to the plan will be allowed. The item will then be brought back for discussion of the
Council.

Lisa Nelson, Director of Public Affairs for Walmart addressed the committee stating she
was grateful for the opportunity to be there and thankful for the feedback that allowed
Walmart to make changes to their plan. Lisa reviewed Walmart’s commitment to the
community relative to helping at the homeless shelter, helping veterans, charitable giving
and the economic impact on communities. She stated there are untruths on the internet
about Walmart and asked anyone with concerns to contact a member of their Wisconsin
team. Lisa stated the average wage is $12.72 per hour for full-time hourly associates,
many of which have gone on to become managers. She said they also offer an excellent
benefit package with $18 per month for health insurance and many of their employees
are participating in those plans. Lisa then introduced Debby Tomczyk, Attorney for
Walmart.

Atty. Tomczyk stated that Walmart’s plan is very achievable and fits with the vision for
downtown. She reviewed the changes they made to the plan since they began this
process 18 months ago and said the proposed store is about 50% smaller than the
current west and east side stores. She said they want to locate on the Larsen Green site
to better serve the customer base on the near west and east side of the river and said
even the Velp Avenue location would be too far for the east side people to walk or bike.
She shared demographics and studies which indicated a large gap for affordable general
merchandise, a grocery store and pharmacy. Atty. Tomczyk said there would be 550 feet
between their store and the riverfront and they are ready to take on the environmental
challenges dealing with the property. Walmart would fund the project and not ask for
financial assistance from the city. Regarding a two level store, she indicated the
proposed store would be 150,000 square feet and one level would better serve their
customers and make loading fresh produce less challenging.

Atty. Tomczyk said Walmart would be happy to work with any developer interested in the
2.2 acres to the east of their site and said they already are including mixed use with
grocery, general merchandise and a pharmacy, just under one building. She said the
project fits with the City’s 2022 Smart Growth Plan, and the building would be built with
sustainable materials from Wisconsin based companies. Walmart is willing to fund
improvement for traffic flow as identified by a traffic impact study. She summarized by
stating the building would be a state of the art, would bring an immediate increase to the
tax base and would allow the $3 million debt to be paid. She indicated they will be holding
another public meeting next Tuesday at 5:00 pm at the Neville Museum and would
welcome continued input from the public.

Ald. DeWane read the names of the individuals who signed the Appearance Request and
were in favor or against the project as follows:
The following individuals were against the project:
Stacy Brabant, 118 S. Washington St.; Lisa Anderson, 894 Elmore St; Adam Chapel, 610
N. Chestnut St.; David Feldhausen, 100 W. Walnut St.; Kara Counard, 732 S. Clay St.;
Tiffany Hoffman, 1333 Grignon – against; Karen Eckberg, 716 S. Roosevelt – against;
Damelle Hilly, 413 Lawe St; Zoar Fulwilder, 100 W. Walnut #111B; Amanda Patterson-
Luedtke, 810 E. Walnut St.; Desiree May, 1572 Cass St.; Shane Piepenburg, 602 16th
Ave.; Emma Bellin, 100 W. Walnut St, #111; LaVonne Bray, 1762 Chateau Dr; Ashley
Deprey-Peeters, 117 S. Jackson St.; Amy Kundinger, 918 Hickory Ave.; Peggy Crabb,
122 S. Maple Ave.; Lisa Hanson, 708 Kellogg St.; Kim Jankowski, 212 N. Oakland Ave.;
Kevin Pursel, 126 S. Broadway; William Peters Jr., 233 N. Ashland Ave; Gregg Weitzol,
225 Woodlawn Ave; Rebecca Derenne, 817 N. Chestnut Ave.; Stephanie Bruss, 4504
Wyandot Trail; Debra May, 908 Shea Avenue; Kathy Lefebvre, 1731 East Shore Circle,
Green Bay; Steve Dorchester, 709 S. Madison St., Green Bay

The following people were in favor of the Walmart project:
Mary Swanson, 101 Cherry St; Rich O’Brien, 3032B Conesta Dr; Noreen Hamm, 407
Park St; Jenn Cassel, 5525 Norway Woods; Lee Olson, 1451 Chicago St; Stacy Rothe,
N6717 County Road E. DePere; David Donoian, 1863 Little Valley Ct; Deb VanBoxel,
142 Schober St; Scott Robe, 6717 County Rd E; Dan Behnke, 1268 Canterbury Rd;
Angelina Gibbons, 800 Chicago St, Apt. 4; Elizabeth Haupt, 999 Riverview Dr., Dave
Loomis, 2125 Bluebill St.; Dan Clark, 2930 Foxford Dr.; William Schleis, 2509 Sheridan
Dr.; Greg Larsen, 632 N. Broadway; Rebecca Lutzen, 900 E. Walnut St.; Debby
Tomczyk, 1000 N. Water St., Milwaukee; Lisa Nelson, 205 N. Lincoln St., Thorp

Ald. DeWane opened the floor for interested parties to speak:
Valerie Dantoin, W2407 Hofa Park Rd, Seymour stated she is a farmer and part of 3
different cooperatives and wanted to know if small local farmers could have access to
putting their local products in the store. Lisa Nelson responded that Walmart is the largest
purchaser of American agriculture and are interested in expanding the local choice for
consumers and would be happy to put Valerie in touch with the right merchandising team
so they could work with the coop. She indicated that Schreiber Foods makes the
shredded cheese that Walmart carries and said all of their stores are buying from the
economy in Green Bay and wherever they operate.

L. Nelson responded to an inquiry from Ald. Zima that Walmart does buy local for
seasonal items like sweet corn, tomatoes, etc..

Pam Fischer, 1344 Russell St. stated that small locally owned businesses saved the
economy of Appleton and said she travels to downtown Green Bay for the experience
and expressed concern what Walmart would do to the downtown experience for now and
the future. She feels a location outside of the downtown would be a better fit. L. Nelson
responded that they feel they are at the edge of the downtown.

David VanderLeest, 507 S. Maple St. indicated he lives in the neighborhood and is in
favor of the project. He inquired about how many mixed uses will be on these 15 acres, 6
or 7? Atty. Tomczyk responded there is an out lot for On Broadway and an opportunity for
development on the east side of their store, 6 or more mixed uses.

Kim Myers, 828 Pine St. stated she is against the project and said in spite of the mixed
use appearance, it’s not true mixed use and limits the potential for Green Bay to make
money and said the air rights are over a parking lot and not desirable. She said Green
Bay is expanding their convention center as is Appleton and could be an expansion of the
downtown. She asked why Walmart’s success is more important than Green Bay’s
success? Response from L. Nelson: The proposal Walmart has for air rights is consistent
with the other proposals the city has, adding that if they weren’t concerned with Green
Bay they would not have spent so much time trying how to make this proposal work. She
added they are already invested in Green Bay and their mixed use plan fits with the City.

James Sanderson, 417 Cambridge St, Green Bay inquired if Walmart knows the history
of the site, saying that is where Fort Howard was and asked if interplaying history into the
site was a priority? He said we have an unsung Fort building near this site that he feels
should be brought back to the original site and give it prominence. L. Nelson responsed
from the first meeting this issue came up and said a discussion was held about how they
could integrate some historical content to the design. She said they are committed to
doing some kind of memorial or historic rendition on the site and would work with On
Broadway to preserve that history.

Laural Virtues Wauters, 2619 E. Glacier Dr, Green Bay commented that other Walmart
models around the country are two story and is aware that the corporate people at
Walmart are suggesting getting away from the Super Stores. She inquired why Walmart
has not agreed to a smaller store or anything other than a one story store. L. Nelson
responded that they have made a lot of changes from the original format and said the
Super Center is still the vehicle to Walmart’s growth. She said their analytics drive what
size store is appropriate for the market and this is what they believe will be the best for
this site. She stated the store may be open 24 hrs and an application to sell alcohol will
be applied for.

Rhonda Sitnikau, 1122 S. Jackson St., Green Bay said the $90,000 Comprehensive Plan
tells us that this isn’t the downtown. She said we are not Walmart haters but she agrees
with many others who feel a smaller store would be fine. She referred to an article in the
Wall Street Journal who said an investor who had 200 shares in Walmart pulled out his
investment. L. Nelson said they respect the opinions in the Wall Street Journal and have
concern if they build too small of a store they would be back in a few years asking for an
expansion. R. Sitnikau mentioned the decline in 5 th quarter sales for Walmart, with L.
Nelson responding that they would not be proposing a store if they didn’t believe it would
be successful.

Paul Swick, 712 N. Ashland Ave, Green Bay inquired about compromise and asked what
percent Walmart feels they have compromised? L. Nelson said relative to other projects
they feel they have come quite a distance and said this project is unique.
Leah Liebergen, 1308 View Lane, Green Bay indicated that she was told talks had been
going on with On Broadway for about a month, at a public meeting at the Neville in the
summer of 2013, when she now hears it’s really 18 months. She said it’s difficult to trust a
company that has lied to her. She doesn’t agree that Walmart is meeting the mixed use
with different departments in one store. She said $9 million that is not being spent is not
correct. L. Nelson responded that this is the number the City said is going unspent at
grocery stores. L. Liebergen said this is money that would be shifted around if Walmart
opens. L. Nelson said this is a growing area and customers need to be served. L.
Liebergen addressed the traffic issue with special events held On Broadway and in the
downtown. L. Nelson said they are willing to deal with the street closures for these
events. L. Liebergen read a quote which said if Walmart only built in cities where they
were wanted, they would never build new stores. L. Nelson said they have talked to many
people in this city who want this project to go forward.

Geoffrey Pinney, 2695 Trojan Drive, Green Bay inquired about Walmart fixing the land for
this project and covering the cost if it exceeds their expectations? L. Nelson responded
they would bear the entire cost. When would they start on this project? L. Nelson
responded this year, if that would be possible. Mr. Pinney asked about taxes being
generated with the two existing stores? L. Nelson said the west side store is on the
Oneida reservation and is not generating taxes, the store on Main Street is. Mr. Pinney
said one-half of the stores are paying tax revenue to the City of Green Bay.

Gregory Evrard, 800 Chicago St, Apt. 2, Green Bay inquired about a bike lane on
Broadway with Lisa responding that they have not proposed this but could talk about it if
necessary. He inquired if the traffic study included boats and trains? L. Nelson said they
based the study on traffic out there and these may be included. In response to another
question, she said she doesn’t have the information if Walmart employs any residents of
the NEW Community Shelter and does not know how many residents reside there. Mr.
Evrard stated that having four stores in one city feels like a monopoly. He inquired if
Walmart would consider allowing the city to put metered parking in their parking lot? L.
Nelson responded “no” and said Walmart would own the property and would provide free
parking.

Brent Crabb, 122 S. Maple Ave., Green Bay inquired why large stores are trending
downward in other cities, but Walmart feels this is a good idea here? Dan Clark,
marketing manager for the area responded saying that weather affects retail and he’s
been in retail for 25 years and said Walmart is as strong as ever. He said internet sales
are beginning to impact their stores as well. Mr. Crabb doesn’t see the connection
between internet sales and a larger store. L. Nelson said internet sales are important to
the future of their store and said they will continue to be strong in the future.

Matthew LeMay, 123 N. Broadway stated he is against the proposal. He inquired about
the number of vacant Walmart stores which he saw in 2012 or 2013 as being 360. L.
Nelson responded that the number of vacant Walmart owned stores is at an all time low,
but didn’t have those numbers with her. She said it’s important that Walmart will own this
store and added that the other vacant stores may not be owned by Walmart. She
indicated that Walmart will help market the property near their building and said
Walmart’s brokers help market the vacant stores as well. Mr. LeMay commented about
not building a two story store and L. Nelson said they could ask some of the store
operators about the challenges of this type of store. She added that customer experience
is number one with them. He said there are no Walmart stores in Seattle and the Fred
Meyer store there is successful and are two stories. Mr. LeMay inquired if Walmart will
allow shoppers to use their parking lot to shop at businesses on Broadway and asked if
Walmart would be comfortable letting their purchase agreement expire to allow interest
from other developers? L. Nelson said they are comfortable with their plan and with the
parking and the operational issues will be handled by other staff.

Eric Gabrielson, 825 Hubbard Street, Green Bay inquired about two buildings on
Broadway that were built for coal storage and asked what are the impediments to reusing
those buildings? L. Nelson responded that their civil engineers looked at those and found
them not to be structurally sound and said it would be costly to re-use those buildings. He
expressed concern about losing historic buildings for a large box store. L. Nelson said
they would be willing to consider a smaller parking lot, and have already made the lot
smaller. Mr. Gabrielson commented about the air rights to the north, with L. Nelson
stating that there is a development proposed in the Larsen Green plan.

Christopher Naumann, 101 Cherry St, #207 said he lives and works downtown and said
when Walmart planned their store, the question came up time and again, about the size
of the store. He asked if this is for maximizing their profit and if they would be willing to
work with the city. L. Nelson said this is the model that can best serve the customers in
this area of the city and said they have made many revisions to their plan to cooperate
with the city. She said they have done so much already and want to proceed with the
plan they have in front of them. Mr. Naumann asked this question because of the
alternative plan that was presented by the City which showed a very high level of density,
far above what On Broadway was thinking and said they struggle finding a developer that
is interested with those constraints.
Judy Van Ryzin, 921 S. Jackson St, Green Bay said much improvement has been made
on Broadway and she wants this to go forward, not backward. She inquired about the
salary of Walmart associates, with Ald. DeWane asking her to stick to questions about
the plan. She commented about an article about residents’ interest in moving into
refurbished warehouses and inquired if Walmart believed we could do the same thing
north of Kellogg St. and that would be as grounded in reality as Walmart’s plan? L.
Nelson responded that there have been opportunities for the property that they are
looking at and their proposal is the one on the table right now, and she is aware that no
other developers can come forward as long as their purchase option is in place. Ms. Van
Ryzin commented there has not been much time for other developers to come forward,
with David Donian, 1863 Little Valley Court commenting that the property has been
vacant since about 2003 and they marketed the property since then. Ms. Van Ryzin
stated that the city has not had a chance to develop this property for the past 125 years
and now would have a chance to market the property. D. Donian responded that in 2003,
the city could have acquired the property at that time, but didn’t. He said no one except
On Broadway stepped up to acquire the property in 2007, and until the property went
under contract in June, 2013 there were several other people who looked at it. Ms. Van
Ryzin stated she knows of developers who are interested, with L. Nelson responding that
real estate is outside the realm of her job. Ms. Van Ryzin summed up by suggesting an
elevator or escalator to accommodate a two story building and said the Broadway District
is not a food desert.

Ruarik Schaffert, 337 Laudan Blvd, Neenah said he thinks it’s fantastic that Walmart hires
veterans. He stated that he didn’t worry about having his job when he returned from
military service. Lisa said they are committed to hiring 30,000 veterans in the next few
years and thanked Ruarik for his service.

Heidi VanDen Plas, 1400 Porlier St., Green Bay inquired about the cost to the city and
taxpayers to clean up the property. L. Nelson responded that Walmart is covering that
cost. Heidi inquired why there is such a need for a super center at that location? L.
Nelson said in terms of the quantity and variety of low cost merchandise and groceries,
Walmart would meet all those options.

Stephanie Bruss, 4504 Wyandot Trail, Green Bay stated she is a business owner in the
Broadway District and helped build a larger building when she was successful. She said
if Walmart builds there, in another five years we won’t know what could have progressed
there. She indicated she would welcome a smaller Walmart or a store a few streets away
from her business and said accessing a store on Velp coming from the highway would be
quicker. L. Nelson responded that Velp is too far to serve the east and west side
downtown population. L. said they made available for the city to develop on the eastern
side of their parking lot and air rights. This would need a third party developer. Ms. Bruss
inquired when Walmart would step away and allow other developers to come forward. L.
Nelson said they are trying to fill a need and serve people in the area. Ms. Bruss
summed up by stating that she feels Walmart is stopping the progress they have made
on Broadway in its tracks.

Nancy Collette, 708 12th Ave., Green Bay inquired why Walmart is meeting such
opposition? She cited the example of Cabela’s being able to build without such
opposition. She said Walmart has done everything to help the city to allow them to build
and said none of the Broadway shops sell the same items that Walmart sells. Ms.
Collette said she is ashamed of the City Council for not giving Walmart the permit to
build.

Sandra Ranck, 4336 Annabell Circle, Green Bay and said she is in the real estate
business and feels the wheels are coming off the buggy. The online dialogues are
getting more negative and her conversation with investors are the same. She said no one
is going to come to the table and upset Walmart and added that until Walmart is off the
table we won’t be able to have dialogue about what could be on that site. She said this
time crunch is creating the perfect storm with the note coming due and no one knows
what the right decision is. She inquired of the Council if this decision needs to be made
right now? She asked if the decision on building Walmart could be delayed a couple of
years until we see what we have at this site? Ald. T. DeWane responded that the
dialogue began four years ago to market this property and nothing happened. Walmart
was the only one who came forward and that’s why we’re here today. S. Ranck asked if it
would be worth it to wait?

Gordon Wilker, Jr., 1224 S. Greenwood Ave., Green Bay inquired if there is one way in
and out for Walmart? L. Nelson responded there are alternate routes. Mr. Wilker inquired
if Walmart needs to have this big store? L. Nelson again said the store that is proposed
is the best option to serve the needs of the people downtown. Mr. Wilker said it’s
appearing that Walmart is on the outside trying to get in, which L. Nelson confirmed. He
inquired if the property were to go bankrupt, would Walmart say the property would be in
better shape after they left, or before Walmart did anything with the property? L. Nelson
responded that they don’t expect to go bankrupt and they are proposing what they feel
will be successful. She said there would still be a structure that Walmart would be paying
taxes on and their realty company would market the property. Mr. Wilker asked if
Walmart would be supportive of having this decision on a city wide ballot? M. Nelson said
that is up to the city and they are open to open debate.
Adam Prochaska, 400 N. Monroe Ave., Green Bay stated he is against the size of the
current proposal because Walmart’s interests are in corporate profits. He feels a store
half the size, about 75,000 square feet, would be a better fit and would provide the
clothing, merchandise and grocery needs of the area. L. Nelson again said this is the size
of store that Walmart feels is best to serve the needs, from their marketing and research.
Mr. Prochaska stated he previously worked at Walmart and said it’s within Walmart’s
capacity to build a smaller store and stop misleading the Council and the public saying
that a smaller store would not work. He asked if Walmart would be willing to show a
smaller store at their meeting next week at the Neville. L. Nelson referred to the
Wauwatosa site and said they only sell merchandise and again said the store has to be
the right size supported by the data of the operations team and said every store has to be
successful enough to support their staff at that store. Mr. Prochaska asked if Walmart is
more concerned about the corporation or the community? L. Nelson responded that they
care immensely about Green Bay but she is here tonight representing the corporation.

Kim Klein Dorchester, 709 S. Madison St., Green Bay asked for the slide where Walmart
is shown in magenta in large form and the other parcels are much smaller. She asked
why Walmart feels their voice carries more weight with our elected officials than her
voice. L. Nelson said it does not. Kim inquired why splitting their business between 3
stores would be beneficial to Walmart? L. Nelson said their customers live downtown and
this store could keep them in their neighborhood and make a good experience. They
don’t expect a large impact on their other west side store. Kim commented on the $3
million loan and asked if Walmart is willing to release an itemization of the cleanup costs?
L. Nelson said they have talked with the city about this.

Ald. DeWane closed the floor to the public and opened to Advisory Committee members
to ask questions. Ald. Danzinger was now present. Ald. Steuer thanked Lisa and Debby
for coming, and inquired about the traffic study done for Walmart and asked if the city
does not agree with their traffic study, would that affect their project? Lisa responded that
they have not received any feedback from the Traffic Dept. of the city. She said the
normal process would be to submit their study to the city, receive feedback and work with
the city. Ald. Steuer inquired about the store being open 24 hours a day, with Lisa
responding that would be their first choice. She indicated they could do many essential
functions during the late hours when there is minimal shopping traffic. Ald. Steuer
questioned the potential of $105 million investments with 4-6 individual businesses, which
On Broadway had projected, versus Walmart’s one story, $10 million store. Lisa
responded that the city adjusted that amount with the Authenticity Plan.

Ald. Wery commented about the City’s Authenticity Plan which listed a need for a full
service grocery including a deli and bakery as well as essential retail options. He
mentioned the area four blocks to the south by Mason Street which the city is marketing.
He asked if Walmart could guarantee a certain dollar amount if asked by the city, with
Lisa responding that they would do this as they have done in other stores. She also
confirmed that they would preserve any archeological items found on the site and would
be open to discussing having a large plaque or memorial identifying the Ft. Howard site.

Ald. Wiezbiskie inquired if the store were to fail, would the building be torn down, and
would Walmart be receptive to an agreement with the city so the city wouldn’t have a
large box empty store? Lisa responded that she was not aware of such an agreement
being required by ordinance and said keeping the existing building would provide the city
with revenue on the assessed value and would make the property more marketable. In
response to a question from Ald. Wiezbiskie about air rights and over head power lines,
she responded that Walmart is not proposing to move the power lines. She said the
existing air rights are in the City’s Authenticity Plan.

Ald. Zima confirmed that the air rights go through the middle of the parking lot, which is
correct. He indicated the current store design is more contemporary than other buildings
in the district and inquired if Walmart would be agreeable to make small changes if
necessary? Lisa responded that this isn’t a done deal and would be happy to get
dialogue going with the city regarding the plan. Ald. Zima said years ago he asked that a
few million dollars be given to make improvements on Broadway and indicated that we
want to keep moving ahead with the improvements that have been made. He said he put
together a survey, and tried to be as neutral as possible, and received a couple hundred
responses from his constituents who were 2 to 1 in favor of the project. He realizes a
couple hundred is not many with 3,000 constituents and said he would be in favor of a
referendum. Lisa responded that they are trying to manage the timeline on this project
and have already been working on it for 18 months. If a referendum would mean another
year, she said that would be a long time, as they would not do construction during the
winter.

Ald. Moore inquired what action the Advisory Comm. is looking to take tonight? Ald.
DeWane responded that no action was planned and this item will not be on tomorrow
night’s Council meeting, and must go through the Plan Commission on June 9 th. Ald.
Moore responded that this seems like another public hearing. Ald. DeWane indicated that
he heard from many constituents and aldermen that everyone needs to see the revised
plan and be able to ask questions, which is why he scheduled this meeting. He said he
talked with the Mayor’s Office before scheduling the meeting.

Ald. Danzinger commented that making a decision on this plan tonight would be
premature and thanked Walmart for providing feedback and explaining why they are
looking at this footprint. He confirmed with Atty. Mueller that this committee cannot
bypass the Plan Commission, which Atty. Mueller confirmed.

Ald. Zima inquired of Atty. Mueller that this committee can make a recommendation to
the Plan Commission? Atty. Mueller responded that approving a plan that doesn’t have
proper zoning is putting the cart before the horse. Ald. Zima said the final say comes from
the City Council, which Atty. Mueller confirmed. Ald. Zima stated that the law that states
the Plan Commission must rule on something before the City Council, who are elected
officials needs to be changed. He commented that the Advisory Committee can make a
recommendation if they wish.

Ald. Tim DeWane suggested continuing this meeting after the June 9 th Plan Commission
meeting and said the City’s Traffic Department has not yet spoken to the traffic study.

Ald. Steuer said he concurs that we don’t have all the information at this point. He said
we have Planning Staff and the Plan Commission to rely on and look to. He agrees that a
vote should not be taken tonight on this issue.

Ald. Scannell inquired if only the Advisory Committee would be voting, if a vote was taken
tonight? Ald. Tom DeWane said that is correct and the full Council will vote on it later.

Ald. Tom DeWane stated he knows what On Broadway Inc. and the Larsen Green Board
have gone through and said this process has taken a long time. He wants what is best for
the city and said he likes the multi use, the creation of jobs and the relationship with the
N.E.W. Community Shelter. He also stated that Walmart would use a local developer who
would hire local contractors for the $10 million project.

Ald. Wery said he supports this project for the following reasons: the City would not have
to take on a $3 million debt, an increased tax base of over $300,000 a year, clean up of
an old industrial site with no assistance from the city, creation of 300 jobs, increased
exposure with complimentary businesses coming in, affordable prices, good mixed use
and convenience for visitors. He summed up by stating that we cannot supersede the
Plan Commission but said Council has overridden the Plan Commission in the past in
some instances, and cited the Sex Offender Residence Ordinance.

Motion made by Ald. Wery for the Advisory Committee to recommend to the City Council
that we approve the Walmart proposal and consider any negotiated changes that may
arise from the required Plan Commission meeting.

Motion seconded by Ald. Nicholson for purposes of discussion.
Atty. Mueller asked that Ald. Wery is recommending to the Council, not the Plan
Commission? Ald. Wery confirmed. Ald. Steuer stated he is not comfortable on this
motion at this time because we don’t have some answers on important items such as the
hours of operation of the store and opposes voting on this issue tonight. Ald. Wiezbiskie
responded to Ald. Zima’s question of legality stating that sending the issue to the Plan
Commission is a state statute which the aldermen were sworn to abide by when they took
office.

Atty. Mueller said the motion is talking about the plan and said the plan itself is a zoning
issue and would need to have the PUD amended in order to go ahead with the project;
and said the motion to approve the plan isn’t the issue. Ald. DeWane said the Plan
Commission won’t see this recommendation since it is going to the Council. Ald.
Scannell inquired what was the purpose of the motion; what are we gaining?

Ald. DeWane deferred to Ald. Wery to respond. Ald. Wery said we know where the
Mayor, ED and Planning Director stand but feels the majority of his district who contacted
him are in favor of the project and asking that their voice be heard. He stated he is not
afraid to take the lead and feels most of the people in his district are in favor of the
project. Ald. Tim DeWane stated that we’re talking about the whole city, not one or two
districts and he would be in favor of holding a referendum.

Ald. Zima agrees with Ald. Wery in that the public is getting the impression that the city is
against Walmart. He said his door-to-door campaign and the results of his survey showed
that constituents were mostly in favor of the project. He said if Council was pushed to
vote now, he would vote in favor of the project. He talked about developments on the
east side being subsidized and said Walmart is trying to accommodate the City and came
to On Broadway, asking for no assistance and said developers are not lining up to fill the
vacant buildings with boutique shops. He also wants the best design possible and is
convinced this is the right project for the site and doesn’t want to delay the process.

Ald. DeWane said we could market this property and wait up to five years for another
developer, with probably no result and said people are asking him why the city is not
approving this project. He asked Atty. Mueller to draw up something so a special Council
meeting could be held on June 10th, right after the Plan Commission meets. Atty. Mueller
said this is a procedure and he would need to check on that process and see how many
signatures are needed.

Ald. Wiezbiskie said he’s not naïve; this project will be extended. Ald. DeWane said the
Larsen Green Board already voted, but there has been no response from the city. Ald.
Danzinger said he wants to respect the process and suggested waiting until after the
Larsen Green meeting tomorrow, to talk about a special Council meeting. He said City
Council will be voting on the issue based on the Plan Commission’s report. He indicated
people he has talked with were split 50/50 on the issue and the people in the middle were
concerned with the design and the density. He said we are trying to find the best outcome
for everyone involved and finds it disturbing that some have already made up their minds
with many questions yet to be answered.

Ald. Zima said aldermen can oppose this at their peril and said there have been big
changes to the initial plan, not incremental changes. He doesn’t want to see this delayed
to a slow death. He said we need four signatures to hold a special Council meeting and
stated he heard the Plan Commission is planning to stall, indicating they are not ready.
Ald. Danzinger called Point of Order and said the Plan Commission can negotiate an
extension on the Purchase Agreement. Ald. Zima would be in favor of receiving and
placing on file if there’s willingness to hold a special Council meeting.

Ald. DeWane said if this is going to be extended for a month or two, he would ask for a
special Council meeting and said if there’s a deadline, we need to meet it. Walmart’s
attorney handed Atty. Mueller a copy of the law on holding special meetings and he will
review this information.

Ald. DeWane asked for a vote on Ald. Wery’s motion to recommend that the City Council
approve the Walmart proposal and consider any negotiated changes that may arise from
the required Plan Commission meeting.

Ald. Tom DeWane, Ald. Zima, Ald. Wery and Ald. Nicholson voted aye.
Ald. Steuer, Ald. Wiezbiskie and Ald. Danzinger voted nay.

Motion carried.

There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Ald. Nicholson and
seconded by Ald. Wery. Motion carried.