Marathon TID loses $1.5M in property value

By Kevin O’Brien

Marathon City officials are hoping a new development opportunity presents itself for the village’s 400 block after one of its TIF districts saw its value drop by $1.5 million over the past year.

During a discussion about the 2025 budget last week, village administrator Steve Cherek told village board members that a state assessor marked down the value of manufacturing facilities such as Marathon Cheese based on the recent sales of similar properties. Other land in tax-incremental district 2 (TID 2) also lost value, resulting in a total decrease of $1.5 million. This loss is also partially due to land purchased by the school district from Marathon Cheese that is no longer on the tax roll, he added.

The end result is that the district will generate $32,000 less in tax revenue next year, he said, which is “not a great thing considering that TID 2 is currently borrowing from the general fund.”

TIF districts, or TIDs, are designated areas within municipalities where the property taxes on any new developments are used to pay for public infrastructure improvements and developer incentives instead of being distributed to the local school district, technical college and county. Marathon’s TID 2 was created to spur redevelopment along Third and Fourth streets (the 400 block), and includes the value of an expansion at Marathon Cheese.

Cherek said the only way to make up for the loss of valuation in TID 2 is through further development within the district.

“So, we’re going to look at trying to attract more businesses within our TID 2 development to help make up that difference,” he said. “A $1.5 million decrease is a substantial amount.”

Trustee Mark Ahrens wondered how manufacturing property could actually decrease during a period of rising prices and questioned whether the village would continue to see these losses in future years.

“It’s hard to understand how it went

MARATHON TID 2/ Marathon TID 2

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down,” he said.

Cherek said the state handles assessments for all manufacturing properties, and he offered to have a state assessor speak to the board about the reasons for the loss in value. Because the boundaries of TID 2 are relatively small, he said the devaluation of a major property like Marathon Cheese will have a huge impact on the entire district.

“It’s going to probably take more than one development,” to make up for the $1.5 million loss, Cherek said.

Later in the meeting, the board convened into closed session to discuss possible development within TID 2, but no action was taken in open session.

Ahrens asked whether the village could expect the valuation to possibly drop on new developments north of STH 29, such as Menzer’s Hardwood. In that case, Cherek said the village has a developer’s agreement with the business that ensures the village will continue to receive a minimum tax payment every year despite changes in valuation.

“That’s why developer’s agreements are very important to have,” he said.

Outside TID 2, the village has seen significant growth in the past year. The village added $16.5 million in equalized value since last year, an 8 percent increase, including a $7 million increase in value within TID 1, which includes parts of the village’s downtown and stretches up to land on both the south and north sides of STH 29.

Net new construction increased the village’s value by 3.45 percent over the past year, which means the village is allowed to raise property taxes by that percentage for 2025.

Cherek said he has completed about 70 percent of next year’s proposed budget, but he’s still waiting to hear what the village will receive from the state in shared revenue and transportation aid, which will be announced later this month. He said he’s anticipating a small increase in shared revenue, but he won’t know the total amount until Sept 15.

Other business

■ Cherek said the village plans to open bids on Sept. 12 for constructing a walking path along Fourth Street and a pedestrian tunnel under CTH NN. Trustee Connie Ruplinger expressed concerns about the impacts of an underground spring that was recently uncovered when a stormwater pond was being dug for the new St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in that area.

Cherek said the project engineer is working on an addendum to the bid sheets that will add more drainage components to the project, but he’s been told that the spring will eventually “idle down” after being pumped out.

■ The village’s fall clean-up day is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, from 8 to 10 a.m., at the village garage, and Halloween trick-or-treating is slated for Sunday, Oct. 27, from 4 to 6 p.m.

■ The board amended a developer’s agreement with Kwik Trip, pushing the village’s deadline for completing a new road north of STH 29 back to Sept. 30. The road was originally supposed to be completed by July, but a second lift of asphalt still needs to be applied.

■ Cherek told trustees that police chief Tyler Geske is asking the board to replace a 2019 Dodge Durango, at an estimated cost of $45,000 after the trade-in value is factored in. The village just bought a new squad vehicle last year, he said, and before that, the last squad was replaced in 2014. Cherek said the Durango is still in good shape and only has 45,000 miles.

Trustee Kevin Sorenson, a former sheriff’s deputy, said most squad vehicles are on the road for 80,000 to 100,000 before being replaced, so he doesn’t see a huge safety issue with keeping the Durango in service for now. The board decided to discuss the request further during budget deliberations.

■ Cherek said he’s going to get a cost estimate for replacing a sewer lateral at Veterans Park after the toilets started backing up a little at the start of Fun Days. He said Ric’s Sewer Service was called in to address the problem, and while clearing two different blockages, they found a broken section of pipe that is allowing groundwater to leak into the sanitary sewer system.

■ Cherek said he plans to talk with the town of Marathon and Marathon County about a recurring rodent problem on the south ditch of South Road. Last year, the village spent about $4,000 to exterminate an infestation of rats, but they have recently returned, so trustees want to consider longer term solutions.

■ After meeting in closed session, the board approved a land swap with St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, with the village receiving 6.19 acres for its pedestrian trail and parkland north of CTH NN, and the church receiving a total of 1.23 acres for a future parking lot or expansion.