Article VIII: Economic Development Commission

[Amended 2-6-2024 by Ord. No. 1261]

The Economic Development Commission is hereby established and shall consist of five members. All members shall be residents of the City of Lake Mills.

§ 27-24 Membership.

Four citizen members of the Economic Development Commission shall be appointed by the Council President, subject to confirmation of the City Council.

Annually, one Council member shall be elected by the City Council to a one-year term.

All terms of office shall commence on May 1 in the year of appointment. Citizen members shall be appointed to three-year terms.

No compensation shall be paid for service on the Commission.

Members shall take the official oath required by Wis. Stats. § 19.01 and such oath shall be filed with the City Clerk.

[Amended 12-18-2012 by Ord. No. 1103]

§ 27-25 Officers.

The Chairperson shall annually be elected by the members of the Commission, and the members may elect a Vice Chairperson, Secretary, and such other officers as the Commission, in its judgment, deems necessary to carry out its duties.

§ 27-26 Meetings.

Meetings shall be held at the call of the chairperson or any two members, and all meetings shall be noticed and open to the public, except as provided in § 19.85, Wis. Stats. The Commission may adopt rules for its governance and procedure.

§ 27-27 Powers and duties.

The Economic Development Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

Promote all City-owned business, commercial, and industrial sites to prospective developers.

Review industrial, commercial, and business development proposals and make recommendations to the City Plan Commission as appropriate.

Recommend to the City Council policies designed to facilitate industrial, commercial, and business development and growth in an orderly fashion.

Review applications for requests under the community development block grant-economic program.

Community development block grant-economic development program requests for financial assistance. All requests from businesses and/or industries located in the City of Lake Mills for financial assistance under the Wisconsin Community Development Block Grant-Economic Program shall be processed in accordance with the procedures given below. These requests are for initial applications for block grants only. Requests for assistance under the City of Lake Mills revolving loan account shall be processed in accordance with § 27-27F, and the Revolving Loan Program Policies and Procedures Manual.

(1)

Initial requests shall be prepared by the local business or industry in letter format and contain the following information:

(a)

Name of business.

(b)

Local address of business.

(c)

Name of parent organization and address, if applicable.

(d)

Amount of City-provided matching funds requested.

(e)

Specific utilization of City-provided matching funds.

(f)

Source of private matching funds. Note: One-dollar private matching funds are required for each City-provided dollar requested. Include documentation from private lender if appropriate.

(g)

Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs/positions to be created by the proposed expansion. Note: Applicants must create one FTE position for each $20,000 of City-provided matching funds requested.

(2)

Requests for financial assistance shall be forwarded to the Commission for evaluation and consideration. The Commission may request an appearance by the Chief Executive Officer or their designated representative before the Commission at a scheduled meeting in order to initially evaluate the request.

(3)

The Commission shall prepare an initial recommendation to the City Council for approval/disapproval to proceed with the request.

(4)

The City Council shall approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the initial request submitted by the Commission.

(5)

In the event the City Council disapproves the request, an application shall not be submitted from the same business or industry for one year.

(6)

In the event the City Council approves or conditionally approves the request, the request shall be referred to the Commission for preparation of a formal application for submission to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services.

(7)

The Commission shall solicit proposals from qualified consulting firms to prepare the application. The Commission retains the authority to award contracts to qualified consulting firms provided the total cost does not exceed $10,000 and the business/industry applicant agrees to fund the cost of retaining the consultant to prepare the application. In the event the cost exceeds $10,000 or the applicant does not agree to pay the consulting fees in total, this information shall be forwarded to the Council by the Commission with a recommendation for resolution.

(8)

Upon receipt of consulting fees, or other actions as directed by the Council, the Commission shall award a contract with a consulting firm to prepare the application.

(9)

The Council shall conduct a public hearing, which has been noticed as a Class II notice.

(10)

The Council may, upon public hearing, adopt a resolution approving the application and it may authorize the Council representative on the Commission to sign all documents related to the application.

(11)

Upon award, the application shall be forwarded to the City Manager for contract administration.

(12)

The Commission shall have 90 calendar days to evaluate the initial request and make a recommendation to the Council. The Council shall have an additional 90 days to evaluate the request and either approve, conditionally approve, or reject the application.

Community development block grant-economic development program revolving loan request procedures. All requests from businesses or industries located in the City of Lake Mills for financial assistance under the Wisconsin Community Development Block Grant-Economic Program Revolving Loan shall be processed in accordance with the procedures outlined below and within the Economic Development Revolving Loan Program Policies and Procedures Manual:

(1)

Initial requests shall be prepared by the local business or industry in letter format and contain the following information:

(a)

Name of business.

(b)

Local address of business.

(c)

Name of parent organization and address, if applicable.

(d)

Amount of City-provided matching funds requested.

(e)

Specific utilization of City-provided matching funds.

(f)

Source of private matching funds. One dollar private matching funds are required for each City-provided dollar requested. Include documentation from private lender if appropriate.

(g)

Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs/positions to be created by the proposed expansion. Applicants must create one FTE position for each $20,000 of matching funds requested.

(2)

All requests for financial assistance shall be forwarded to the Commission for evaluation and consideration. The Commission may request an appearance by the Chief Executive Officer or the designated representative before the Commission at a scheduled meeting in order to initially evaluate the request.

(3)

The Commission shall conduct a public hearing, which has been noticed as a Class II notice.

(4)

The Commission shall prepare a recommendation in accordance with the City of Lake Mills Revolving Loan Program Policies and Procedures Manual for the Council to approve or disapprove. The recommendation shall include the term of any loan and the interest rates applied.

(5)

The Council shall approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the request in accordance with the recommendation by the Commission, the public hearing, Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services mandates for loan approvals, and the City of Lake Mills Revolving Loan Program Policies and Procedure Manual.

(6)

Upon award by the Council, the application shall be forwarded to the City Manager for contracting and administration.

(7)

Exercise other specific powers and duties as authorized from time to time by resolution of the City Council.