Local business to expand in Stratford park

By Kevin O’Brien

A Stratford business owner plans to build a new 15,000-square-foot truck parts facility next to his current location in the village’s industrial park, and in exchange, the village will contribute $10,000 toward fixing a stormwater problem on his property.

At its annual reorganization meeting on April 15, the Stratford Village Board approved a developer’s agreement with Duwayne Dahlke, owner of Phoenix Stainless, a metal fabricator for the food and beverage industry, and Phoenix Express, which sells and transports landscaping materials.

Dahlke plans to purchase a village-owned lot directly to the south of Phoenix Stainless in order to construct a manufacturing and assembly facility for heavy truck accessories and parts, according to the developer’s agree-

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ment. The operation will also include the sale of heavy trucks.

The village has agreed to sell the land to Dahlke for $2,000 per acre, which will amount to a total purchase price of $16,580 based on the 8.29-acre lot size. A closing date for the sale is set for May 16.

Because the land is located within a tax-incremental district (TID 4), the village is able to offer development incentives based on the value of the future development. In this case, the village will provide Dahlke with a $10,000 Direct Business Assistance Grant (DBAG) to be used as reimbursement for stormwater drainage improvements on land owned by Dahlke.

Trustee Todd Belter called it a “cost-sharing” agreement, with the $10,000 to cover a portion of the stormwater improvements, which will address drainage issues to the east of Dahlke’s existing property, between Phoenix Stainless and Trimpac.

“It’s a problem area out there,” he said. “It was addressed with a temporary ditch, but with this, there will be manholes put in and the ditch will disappear.”

Dahlke will need to submit paid invoices to the village in order to be reimbursed, and all of the grant money must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026, according to the agreement. Construction of the new manufacturing facility must also be completed by the same date, with a minimum valuation of $450,000.

If construction has not commenced by the end of 2026, or if construction activities cease for more than 90 consecutive days, the village has the option to buy the land back for $1 plus the fair-market value of any improvements.

Starting in 2027, the property taxes generated by the new facility must be no less than $9,450 per year, and if they ever fall below that amount, Dahlke must make up the difference through what’s called a “private guarantee payment.” Because the development will be located within TID 4, all of the property taxes collected on the new building will go toward paying off development incentives rather than being distributed to the Stratford School District, Marathon County and Northcentral Technical College.

Before construction begins, the developer is required to submit a detailed site plan and landscaping plan to the village for approval, to ensure the facility will meet the industrial park’s design standards and building covenants. Among the requirements are the installation of landscaping bricks or a retaining wall along any sidewalks.

At last week’s meeting, trustee Damon Englebretson asked why Dahlke would be allowed to sell vehicles in the industrial park, noting that he was not allowed to do so there after he first got his dealer’s license in 2011.

“Has something changed to accommodate this?” he asked.

Belter explained that Dahlke will not be operating a sales lot on the property.

“As part of them putting vehicles together, there are vehicles that will be sold there,” he said. “They need to be kept in the screened-in area behind Phoenix Stainless, so it’s not per se a sales lot.”

2024 Champion Tree

Duane and Lynette Pupp, 120688 Balsam Rd., were presented with the village’s 2025 Champion Tree award in honor of “Davy’s Tree,” a nearly 50-year-old butternut planted by Duane’s brother, David August Pupp, in 1978. According to the Pupps’ nomination form, the tree has grown to a height of 55 feet, a circumference of 19 feet and branches that spread out as far as 80 feet wide.

In his nomination letter, Duane noted that his brother suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving on the front lines of the Vietnam War. Duane said he gave Davy a farm plot on the family farm, and he started replacing the trees in his apple orchard, one each year, and the replanted orchard continues to flourish to this day.

When Davy showed up with what he called a “fast-growing hybrid” tree around 1978, Duane suggested he plant it just to the west of their driveway, and it’s grown ever since.

“As for David, it took him until the end of the 20th century to recover,” Duane wrote. “He slowly got better each year. He became a wonderful grandfather who doted on his grandchildren. He got one really good decade after recovering from PTSD. He was a student at UWSP and received an honorary degree after he died in 2007.”

2025 CHAMPS - Lynette and Duane Pupp receive Stratford’s Champion Tree award for 2025, presented by village president Keith Grell, center. The belt was presented to the couple in honor of a nearly 50-year-old butternut tree originally planted by Duane’s brother, Davy.

STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN O’BRIEN