By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
While there have been a series of changes within Whitewater this past year, there is one glaring issue that was at the forefront of decision-makers’ minds at the beginning of 2016 and remains high on the wish list.
The city’s Community Development Authority on Dec. 21 continued discussing the ongoing pursuit of a full-service grocer and vowed to dig deeper into the issue in the new year to ensure no stone was left unturned.
Whitewater lost its sole full-service grocer a year ago when local businessman Terry Daniels closed his Sentry store in Whitewater, citing declining customer traffic. A neighboring Walmart, which has a selection of groceries, was credited with eroding Sentry’s business over time.
Although he frequently has asserted a new grocer needs to be market-driven, CDA chairman Jeff Knight implored city staffers and fellow members on the appointed body to look at all possibilities to help facilitate any potential suitor in the retail category in the road ahead.
About a half-dozen commercial properties within the city are currently unoccupied, and Knight said the scenario could provide possible opportunities in the future.
“We have some vacant properties in this town, and they’ll become an eyesore if we don’t put them into production,” he said.
On the other end of the spectrum, several CDA members during last week’s brainstorming session suggested offering possible incentives to land a grocer off the city’s main commercial corridor.
Council member Jim Allen, who serves on the CDA, said a grocer on the periphery of the community could spur additional economic development.
“If we build the anchor, other businesses will come,” Allen said as he fleshed out his philosophy.
Some of the mechanisms at the city and CDA’s disposal could include resources within one of the active tax-incremental financing (TIF) districts.
TIF is a mechanism that allows municipalities to borrow money for infrastructure improvements. The increased property tax revenue from the improved land is then diverted from the tax rolls to pay off the loan.
Knight called on the CDA to have a “soup to nuts” discussion of the grocery store recruitment effort at the appointed body’s next regular meeting in late January.
“Let’s bring this back with some ideas,” he said.
Also discussed at the Dec. 21 meeting was a potential grocery store operating through a co-op business model. That scenario has been discussed throughout 2016, and several interested participants within the community attended a seminar on the dos and don’ts of a co-op.
Knight said the CDA could assist the co-op group in occupying vacant space when the time is right.
Patrick Cannon, CDA coordinator, said the co-op effort remains a work in progress and noted securing a storefront presence is further down the group’s to-do list.
“At this point, in the co-op’s life cycle, for lack of a better term, they’re nowhere near ready to open their doors,” Cannon said. “Going to rent some property right now would be a waste of time and money.”
Cannon said the group still needs to incorporate the organization and tend to other logistics. He suggested seeking a storefront space would be “at least a year out.”
