Economic Development Agenda 10-14-2026

Notice of Public Meeting AGENDA Committee: Economic Development Committee Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Time: 1:00PM Location: Third Floor County Board Room, 407 S. 2nd Street, Alma, WI 54610 Remote Access: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/22937297962641?p=UHz0p4MdGp7kVYk3Eh This meeting is open to the public, but portions of the meeting may be closed if this notice indicates that the committee may convene in closed session. The following matters may be reviewed, discussed and acted upon at this meeting . Please note that deviations from the order shown may occur. 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call of Members 3. Verification of Open Meetings Law Compliance 4. Approve Agenda 5. Approve Minutes from Previous Meeting 6. Public Comment 7. Presentation on Tourism Promotion and Development 8. Next Meeting Date and Time 9. Adjournment Date: October 8, 2026 Nathan Nelson, Chair By: Lisa Schmitt, County Clerk Board Members: If unable to attend, please contact the Chair. If the Chair is unavailable, please contact the County Clerk’s Office at 608-685-6209. If the Chair and the County Clerk are not available, please call the Administrative Coordinator at 608-685-6234. Persons with Disabilities: Buffalo County shall attempt to provide reasonable accommodations to the public for access to its public meetings, provided reasonable notice of special need is given. If you require special accommodations to attend this meeting, please contact the County Clerk’s Office at 608-685-6209. Public Access to the Courthouse: The South Entrance will be the only access to the building after 4:00 p.m. Monday – Thursday and after 12:00 p.m. on Fridays. Persons who are members of another governmental body, but who are not members of this committee, may attend this meeting. Their attendance could result in a quorum of another governmental body being present. Such a quorum is unintended, and they are not meeting to exercise the authority, duties, or responsibilities of any other governmental body. BUFFALO COUNTY MINUTES Committee of the Board: Economic Development Committee Date of the Meeting: Wednesday, September 9, 2026 Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 9:30 a.m. Board Members Present: Mr. Nathan Nelson, Mr. Gary Stanton, Mr. Michael Taylor, and Mr. John Hadley. Others Present for All or Part of the Meeting: Mr. Lee Engfer , Ms. Lisa Schmitt, and Mr. Dave Carlson. Verification of Open Meetings Law Compliance: Ms. Schmitt verified that proper public notice was given at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. Approve Agenda: Mr. Taylor made a motion to approve the agenda as presented, seconded by Mr. Stanton. Carried. Approve Minutes from Previous Meeting: Mr. Stanton made a motion to approve the minutes of the August 5, 2026, meeting, seconded by Mr. Hadley. Carried. Public Comment: None. Update on Goals: Mr. Carlson gave an update on his goals. Plans include holding three mini strategic planning sessions in the areas of housing, visitor economy/tourism marketing, and business retention and expansion/entrepreneurship. Dates for these meetings were set for October 7 th, October 21st, and November 18th from 9 – 11:30 a.m. at the courthouse. Members of the public will be invited to discuss these matters with the committee. Representatives from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and Visit Winona will be invited to participate. Mr. Carlson continues to add posts to Facebook and new content to the Explore Buffalo County website. He submitted the Explore Buffalo County website and the Facebook page to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation as a nominee for an award. Visits to businesses in the county will be made in the next few weeks. Flyway Trail Update: Mr. Engfer reported that the Flyway Trail committee met. A representative from the City of Fountain City expressed interest in collaborating and expanding the trail north in the future. There is an issue with the first phase of the trail and there will be a meeting with the engineers regarding this. Review/Discussion/Action - Business Maps: Mr. Stanton has ordered some examples of maps and will provide them for the next meeting. Mr. Carlson will also look for some map ideas to share. Review/Discussion/Action – Budget Ideas: Vision Design’s proposal to enhance marketing and website ideas was given to the committee for their review and the proposal was discussed. It will be decided as to what items we would like Vision Design to do and what Mr. Carlson will handle. Adding Instagram was discussed. New Business(es) Update: Mr. Engfer stated that the Town of Milton continues to be an area of interest for new businesses, but the cost for a septic system to be installed is a holdback. The state’s fees for approving a septic system for industrial and commercial use are very high. Local businesses have reported a decrease in public outdoor event attendance. Committee Chairperson Report: None. County Administrator Report: Mr. Engfer mentioned that UW-La Crosse has a small business center that helps small businesses with start-ups. We had two businesses that won awards through them last year and we can nominate a small business in the county for an award this year. This business will be invited to UW-La Crosse for a luncheon and awards ceremony. We continue to look for ideas to attract small businesses. Mr. Carlson mentioned that an idea for next year could be to do a Grow Your Own Business series. In the past, about $32,000 was budgeted for Economic Development, with about $25,000 of that going towards salary costs. It needs to be decided how much to put towards marketing and what the 2027 budget should be. Correspondence: None. Future Agenda Items: Maps Next Meeting Date and Time: The next regular meeting date and time will be October 14, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. Adjournment: Mr. Stanton made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:31 a.m., seconded by Mr. Taylor. Respectfully Submitted, Lisa Schmitt County Clerk