Community Development Authority (CDA) mtg — Minutes

Town of Phelps Community Development Authority 4495 Town Hall Rd., PO Box 157 Phelps WI 54554 Phone/Fax 715-545-2270 CDA Commission Members: Mak Holcomb, President, Community Member Maureen Robinson, VP/Sec, Town Board Steve Waier, Town Board Gene Hojan, Community Member Phelps Community Development Authority Wednesday, January 21, 5:30 PM Meeting Minutes Phelps Town Hall, 4495 Town Hall Road 1. Call Meeting to Order and Roll Call (Quorum): The meeting was called to order by Steve Waier at 5:35 PM, following the administering of oaths of office by Town Clerk, Sheryl Ward, for Maureen Robinson, Steve Waier, and Jean Petrick. Absence: Mark Neitzel 2. Approval of Minutes: First: Gen Hojan; Second Jean Petrick, Motion Carried. 3. Communications and Public Appearances 4. Routine Business: Copies were provided to all of the CDA Members for their review and for future reference. a. Review of Bylaws ● Resolution 2016-3 Created the CDA ● Resolution 2017-1 Bylaws b. Review of State Statutes ● Section 66.1333 ● Section 66.1335 c. Overview of Prior Business by the CDA. 5. Detailed Business: Elections and Appointments were as follows: a. Election of President. Steve Waier nominated Mak Holcomb as the President, Gene Hojan seconded the nomination. Mak Holcomb accepted the nomination. Motion Carried. b. Election of Vice President/Secretary: Maureen Robinson nominated herself as the VP. Mak Holcomb seconded the nomination. Maureen accepted the nomination. Motion Carried. c. Appointment of the Secretary/Executive Director, Mark Neitzel had been previously approved to this position by the Town Board at their December meeting. Sreve Waier made the nomination, Gene Hojan seconded the motion. Motion carried subject to a formal acceptance by Mark Neitzel. Maureen Robinson volunteered to follow up on this matter. d. Recruitment discussion: A couple of candidates were discussed, and Steve Waier volunteered to contact the candidates regarding their interest in serving on the CDA.The group emphasized the importance of a Phelps Business Member, and someone else with building, contracting and/or development experience. The CDA currently has 5 voting members, and the Executive Director (non-voting member) so they would have room for two more voting members. 6. Business by the Commissioners: a. Brainstorming priorities for economic development of Phelps. ● Time was spent reviewing the meeting with individuals that were/are administrators for the Town of Merrill. They had a lot of experience in developing housing projects for their town. Our mechanisms of achieving those types of projects will be different as Phelps is not eligible for TIF funding, which was their primary funding mechanism. They did provide a contact that Gene Hojan followed up with since the meeting. Jeremy Ryan volunteered to also make contact with the developer. ● There have been people contacting THRIVE regarding the Lillian Kerr Development. At the last Town Board meeting Jeremy reported that an RFQ was being put together by himself and VCEDC to solicit developers qualified and experienced in redeveloping the Lillian Kerr Hospital site. Once the RFQ is submitted Maureen Robinson will bring copies of the document for all of the Commission Members. b. Brainstorming priorities to address the housing shortage in Phelps. ● The group discussed many innovative ideas for types of housing developments in Phelps. There is a need to provide low maintenance housing options for seniors, that also provide a strong sense of community. Affordable housing for the Phelps workforce, and potential new community members. To keep costs manageable, a housing development could be done in phases. ● It was discussed that the plan ideas developed by Cedar Corporation will include housing, such as condominiums and live/work apartment units. ● Jean Petrick volunteered to bring some ideas for names for a housing initiative in Phelps to the Commissioners at the next meeting. c. Funding strategies for the CDA. The Commissioners discussed the pros and cons of several funding strategies, both public and private. The objective is to utilize funding strategies that can sustain the CDA, and address both economic development and the housing crisis in Phelps. A couple of options were presented to the group by Jeremy Ryan. Maureen Robinson, volunteered to put together handouts for the Commissioners at the next meeting in February, outlining these discussions. Maureen Robinson and Jeremy Ryan volunteered to work on a more formal presentation of funding strategies for the CDA, and presentation to the Town Board. 7. Executive Director’s Report: There was no report as this position was newly appointed at this meeting. 8. Set the next meeting date. The meeting date was set for February 11, 2026, at 4:30 PM, at the Town Hall/Community Center. 9. Meeting Adjourned by Steve Waier at 7:10 PM. s/Maureen Robinson, Town Supervisor, VP/Secretary for the CDA. This meeting notice was posted at the Town Office and the Town website on January 20, 2026 (Notice is hereby given that a majority of the Town Board might be attending this meeting. This constitutes a meeting of the Town Board pursuant to the State ex rel. Badke vs. Greendale Village Bd., 173 Wis. 2d 553, 494 N. W. 2d 409 (1993), and must be noticed as such, although the Town Board will not take any formal action at this meeting.)