Businesspersons' Petition for Stoughton City Council.

Dear Alderpersons and Mayor Olson:

As merchants and building owners, we are NOT in favor of the Stoughton City Council approving, at its 1-28-14 meeting, the City and Kettle Park West Developer Agreement -- to construct a commercial area and WalMart SuperCenter.

o We call upon alders to TABLE the agreement at your next meeting 1-28-14.

o We call upon alders to adopt a motion to direct the city to conduct an impartial and professional economic and fiscal Impact Study of the proposed SuperCenter and adjacent commercial properties BEFORE proceeding any further with the developer.

o We call upon the alders to require that Impact Study include the future impact of the proposed U.S. Hwy. 51 Stoughton by-pass which will cause decreased traffic on present Hwy. 51 from CTH B on the north to CTH 138 to the south (Van Buren St.) and the impact of that decrease on the viability of the proposed SuperCenter over the next 30 years of the expected life of a SuperCenter. It is possible that this traffic decrease will be a contributing cause to failure of the proposed commercial area and failure of the proposed Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) District.

o We call upon the City to conduct public hearings on the completed Impact Study inviting merchants and citizens from the six below communities soliciting their comments and views.

o Lastly, we question the wisdom of the City borrowing over $6 million from a bond issue at 3.4% or greater and providing the developer with over $5.1 million of taxpayer money to subsidize one small group of retailers to the detriment of another large group of 400 or more retailers in the Stoughton, Oregon, Evansville, Edgerton, Cambridge and McFarland area.

Thank you for your consideration!

For more information or to join call 608-873-4886. Thank you!