1/5/2009 6:00:00 AM This year's news? It's the stupid economy
The West End made some visible progress in 2008, with contractors scraping down a large hill and installing a turning lane and utilities for the 62-acre development. But continued progress hinges on T. Wall Properties being able to land the big-box retailer that will draw destination shoppers.
Verona Press staff
It doesn't take a genius to figure out what will be on everyone's minds in 2009.
To put a twist on a famous presidential campaign phrase, it's the stupid economy.
While it's not exactly a local phenomenon, the state of the national and global economy is going to have its fingerprints all over the biggest stories in Verona this year. From the housing market - including the value of your homes - to the continued rise of big box stores and developments like the West End and the Farm and Fleet-anchored Hometown Circle, we'll all be waiting to see how and when it all turns around.
Verona could actually slip out of this all without major damage, which is more than many communities can say. But if depressing conditions continue for too long, much of what it has planned could unravel.
Timing is everything, and the same can be said for the Verona Area School District, which this year will try to put the pieces together on an ambitious multidistrict school for career specialization.
That "Global Academy" initiative might seem counterintuitive, as the district already faces the likelihood of a budget shortfall in 2009. But it's also thinking ahead as Verona continues to position itself as a community on the cutting edge.
Now that the city-town consolidation is behind us, Verona as a whole is clearly planning for the future. Big changes are in store for the fire department, and the city is finishing a comprehensive plan that will guide everything from historic preservation to future transportation options and the look and feel of the downtown business district.
But its planning efforts could be hampered by regional and county rules being tinkered with this year.
1 The economy
We aren't in the business of predicting the economy, but there's no doubt we'll be following its local implications in 2009.
In some ways, Verona is shielded from the larger economic woes plaguing the nation. We aren't seeing massive layoffs or plummeting home prices, and our largest employer, Epic Systems, keeps building new offices and hiring new workers.
But Verona isn't an island, either. For some residents, the sinking stock market has meant dwindling retirement accounts, which might make locals think twice before going out to eat or buying something new. How will that impact Verona's shops and restaurants in 2009? Stay tuned.
The local housing market is another area to watch. Between 2000 and 2007, Verona builders constructed an average of 97 single-family or duplex units a year, including 80 in 2007. Through three quarters of 2008, only 31 new single-family homes were built, and for the first time since 1995, no multi-unit dwellings were added.
Two large subdivisions that were approved back in 2006 - the Scenic Ridge and Cathedral Point neighborhoods just south of the bypass - once again put off plans to build homes, recognizing a slow housing market being held down by the all-too-familiar credit crunch.
Unlike other areas of the state, job cuts hopefully won't be part of the local picture in 2009. And there are bright spots for employment in Verona. Drug maker SAFC Pharma is building a manufacturing plant on the city's southeast side that's expected to hire some 50 people by early 2010. And as mentioned earlier, Epic appears poised to add to its staff of more than 3,300.
But again, Verona could feel the sting if things get worse. A weak economy already contributed to the loss last year of John Erickson Chevrolet, which closed last March after General Motors nixed a sale of the dealership. That left 25 people without a job.
Local schools will feel the pinch, too. For several years, Verona schools each spring have cut teachers or programs to cover budget shortfalls. Look for more of the same in 2009, as a $5 billion-plus state budget deficit pretty much ends hope that the state will increase how much it gives to schools.
2 Global Academy
The next 12 months could determine whether Verona will someday be at the epicenter of a major new public education initiative in Dane County.
A six-school-district consortium began making ambitious plans to create a "Global Academy" in Verona last year, but 2009 is when the rubber meets the road for the proposed school if officials want to open it as hoped in September 2010.
In theory, the Global Academy will be located in Verona in a campus separate from Verona Area High School. It will offer teens - mostly juniors and seniors - from across Dane County innovative classes and a chance to earn college or postsecondary credits.
But many big questions remain. Where exactly will the school be? Who will teach the classes? What classes? How will kids get there? Who will pay for it? And how much?
Those questions - and dozens more - need to be answered by the end of the year so any Global Academy courses can be included in the January 2010 course syllabus at VAHS, said superintendent Dean Gorrell.
"I'm hesitant to say it's a make-or-break year," Gorrell said. "However, that said, if we give this too much breathing space, we'll be here 10 years from now saying what a great idea this is."
The time is now for the academy, Gorrell and other officials have argued, because as school districts face dwindling budgets, the academy would let area schools pool resources and offer specialized - and often expensive - courses to prepare kids for 21st century careers.
So far, officials have said courses would likely fall under one of four "career clusters" - architecture and construction, health science, information technology and a fourth that includes aspects of science, technology, engineering and math.
Beyond that, officials need to iron out countless details - from outlining curriculum and deciding how teachers will be hired and paid to figuring out simple things like who pays to turn the heat on.
"There will have to be a lot of things that come together pretty soon," Gorrell said.
To figure it all out, representatives from the six districts - Verona, Oregon, Belleville, Middleton-Cross Plains, McFarland and Mount Horeb - will continue to meet at least once a month. And the consortium last summer hired Bill Reis, former Middleton-Cross Plains superintendent, to spearhead planning.
To roll out the academy by September 2010, Gorrell conceded that some plans might be phased in. For example, the school might open in a temporary location for the first year or so before a new campus is built.
But overall, he expects 2009 will be the year the academy turns from a theory to reality.
"There's going to be a tremendous push to get this done," he said.
3 The West End
Now that the main approvals are out of the way, all that remains for the West End is to find tenants.
That, of course, has been what we've really been waiting for all along.
Dane County's biggest commercial developer, T. Wall Properties, brought the West End concept to Verona in late 2006, and it was well-received by both city leaders and the public. But economic downturns the next year and competition on the other side of the city slowed plans for the 62-acre faux downtown along West Verona Avenue.
It got a boost in March, when about 200 local residents showed up at a public forum in the Verona Senior Center to speak their minds and the city responded by giving T. Wall a head start on signing the big engine that would make the whole thing go - a big-box store.
Alas, with the economy really struggling lately, it remains to be seen if Kohl's - or anyone else - is ready to take a chance on a $150 million mixed-use concept, with offices, apartments, a hotel and a slew of smaller retail shops all mixed together in a multistory complex with shared parking and a multipurpose park area.
If it does happen, it's a pretty good sign for Verona's economy, and it could give development all along the Verona Avenue corridor a big spark. If a deal doesn't get done before construction season, though, it could be another long year of waiting for the big retail boom in Verona.
And there's more riding on the West End's big box than the hotel, credit union, apartment developer and convenience store that have already made plans to settle in the West End. Kohl's likely would bring Costco and Best Buy with it, and city leaders have high hopes that it could help spawn spinoff development all along West Verona Avenue, combining with Farm and Fleet to fill out an updated business corridor up and down the road that once was the main highway out of Madison.
While there hasn't been much big news to report for a few months, T. Wall and its business partners have produced a steady stream of planning documents since midyear, getting developer's agreements and updated designs approved. That continues Monday, when UW Credit Union will present its plan for a bank in the West End.
4 School budget cuts
You've probably heard this one before.
This spring, Verona schools will likely have to make budget cuts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It's a story we've been following for years now, as VASD has slashed nearly $4.9 million from its budgets over the past seven years.
The cuts have resulted in layoffs, larger class sizes in some grades, fewer electives and higher student fees, among other things.
The biggest reason for the cuts each year involves how the state funds schools. Every year, salaries and benefits for district staff - which account for about 85 percent of total spending - go up at a rate that outstrips how much new revenue the district can raise under state-imposed revenue caps. The difference often accounts for the lion's share of budget cuts.
The cuts are smaller in years when enrollment increases, but even with enrollment trending up, superintendent Dean Gorrell still anticipates a budget reduction of between $800,000 and $1.2 million for the 2009-10 school year.
Each school will find out how much it needs to cut early in 2009, and then sites will announce their specific cuts by April.
Some officials have wondered in public meetings if the district should hold a referendum to offset future cuts, but Gorrell said such a move is unlikely this spring, in part because of the ailing economy.
Another unknown about this year's budget has Gorrell concerned, too. Because state spending on schools is tied to the consumer price index, he wonders if the sluggish economy could lead to a smaller-than-average increase this year for per-pupil spending.
"They aren't worried, yet," Gorrell said of state school officials, "but it's something we're definitely watching."
5 The fire district
It happens in small towns everywhere. Fire departments evolve from volunteer operations built on the buddy system to professional agencies with high expectations and higher budgets.
It's always painful, and it's always complicated, and that awkward transition is what Verona is in the midst of now. It has what is known as a "combo" department, with full-time personnel but still heavily dependent on low-cost "paid on-call" volunteers, and for the past two years even its chief was a POC.
But 2009 is the year when the City of Verona and the towns of Verona and Springdale take their biggest step yet in determining how they will provide fire protection in the future. A new part-time chief has been hired, and the city has appointed a commission to study whether it should leave the Verona Joint Fire District and create its own department, answerable to the Common Council, and if so, how.
Whatever happens, it will almost certainly come with major changes in how the department is governed, and many people have argued that it should have happened a long time ago. Unfortunately, though, the city-town consolidation question in Verona and the tendency of the district's governing commission to move slowly have drawn out the agony.
The city attempted to withdraw cleanly in 2008, but it seemed nobody could agree on anything - from who would take over the current facilities to how the towns of Verona and Springdale could be guaranteed good service if they contracted with the city. A report from a consultant hired by the district did not go over well with the towns, and the tension got so bad that they walked out of the annual meeting in October without a 2009 budget, protesting what they saw as bullying by the city.
While the immediate problem was resolved in short order, it left no doubt that any restructuring of the department could resemble a messy divorce. So last month Mayor Jon Hochkammer appointed a five-member ad hoc commission to study the issue, and it's expected to have its first meeting in January.
It remains to be seen whether the commission can recommend a course of action that the Town of Verona can accept (Springdale is likely to take its remaining piece to Mount Horeb), but patience is running out on all sides, so it's all but certain there it will have a new structure on Jan. 1, 2010.
6 More county control?
Cities and villages normally get to make their own decisions on development, but a pair of regional commissions could have quite a bit to say about that this year.
In 2008, the newly formed Capital Area Regional Planning Commission cracked down on what it considered sprawl, sharply limiting the automatic approval of vital sewer service extensions and therefore forcing many cities to justify to CARPC how they use their land. That didn't go over well in Verona, which took pride in what it considered its judicious use of precious land and ended up leading an unsuccessful uprising against CARPC's new policies.
CARPC put together a task force to revisit those policies, but nothing has happened so far.
If it backs down a little, Verona, like many other cities, will go back to planning the way it had before - for quick growth. If not, expect to see Verona become more cautious with development while the Dane County Cities and Villages Association fights for more autonomy for its members.
Verona and other cities will also keep a close eye on the county's Lakes and Watershed Commission.
That obscurely named group has a special state-granted power that allows it - with County Board approval - to create environmental policies that cities and villages in the county must abide by. And some people think its efforts to protect the Yahara Lakes and other area water bodies, such as the Sugar River and Badger Mill Creek, are going too far.
The commission has spent several years working on its Waterbody Classification Project, which it ultimately hopes to apply to construction projects all over the county. The commission had, in fact, intended to get something passed in 2008.
But under pressure from worried municipalities and business leaders - who feared an across-the-board decrease in home values and therefore tax receipts - it, too, is revisiting its recommendations with the help of a "focus group."
