Site Redevelopment Program Background and Funding Sources
Vision
Washington County and its communities are nationally recognized leaders in transforming underutilized, blighted and brownfield sites into productive assets contributing to a strong tax base and desirable places to live, work and thrive.
Mission
Working collaboratively, the Site Redevelopment Program advances targeted and impactful redevelopment of blighted, underutilized, and brownfield sites by leveraging valuable and sustainable funding and other resources to provide economic growth and vitality and enhance the quality of life in Washington County.
Core Values
Transformative Collaboration - Through a shared vision and an actively engaged citizenry, proactively assisting local governments and developers throughout the redevelopment process to mitigate risk and maximize opportunity.
Shared Resources - Providing local governments and developers with valued expertise and an innovative and competitive toolbox for brownfield redevelopment.
Fiscal Operations - Contribute to solving the fiscal challenges facing municipalities in providing essential, expected public services in a data-driven way.
Goals
- Assess and Redevelop Properties Throughout Washington County
- Obtain Maximum Leverage
- Implement the Marking Plan of the Site Redevelopment Program
- Integrate the Inventory with GIS
- Integrate Partnerships into Planning and Project Development
- Sustainability of the Site Redevelopment Program
History
- In 2013, Washington County formed a coalition with the City of Hartford, City of West Bend, Village of Jackson, Village of Richfield and Village of Slinger to apply for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Brownfield Coalition Assessment Grant for Hazardous Substance and Petroleum Brownfields. On May 28, 2014 Washington County was awarded a $600,000 grant. The grant funds were used to complete a county-wide inventory and prioritization of sites that have redevelopment potential, and perform Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments on priority sites.
- In 2017, the US EPA announced that Washington County was successful in securing a second Countywide Coalition Brownfield Assessment Grant totaling $600,000 to fund an update of the inventory and site prioritization, perform phase I and phase II environmental site assessments on priority sites, complete remedial action plans and redevelopment plans for select sites, and perform community outreach and education.
- In 2019, the Village of Germantown and the Village of Kewaskum joined the coalition in applying for FY2020 Assessment and RLF grants.
- In 2020, the Washington County Board of Supervisors approved $600,000 to establish a County Brownfield Environmental Assessment and $1,000,000 for the Washington County Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). The Washington County Brownfield Assessment Fund provides funding for environmental assessments, environmental reporting, and reuse planning. The Washington County RLF provides funding to support cleanup activities that support the creation of jobs, the cleanup of distressed areas, the elimination of blight, and increase the tax base.
- Additionally in 2020, the US EPA awarded Washington County an $800,000 Revolving Loan Fund Coalition Grant/ This revolving loan fund can be used for cleanup activities on brownfield sites.
Economic Development Washington County will play a key role in managing both the County and U.S. EPA funding sources and RLF programs. The two RLF funding sources are an outstanding addition to the SRP, since they greatly expand the funding available for brownfield cleanup and site revitalization.
The successes of the SRP are directly related to the work that is contributed by the partners who are involved. S collaboration partners consist of local governments and organizations such as Economic Development Washington County, Wisconsin DNR, and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
In an effort to effectively redevelop and revitalize selected sites throughout the County, a Site Redevelopment Steering Committee (SRC) was formed to provide input into the grant application and implementation of the grant. SRC members include:
Jeff Schleif
|
County Board Supervisor
|
| Brian Krebs |
County Board Supervisor |
John Fellows
|
Community Development Director - City of West Bend
|
| Jacob Maas |
City Planner - City of Hartford |
Margaret Wilber
|
Administrator - Village of Slinger
|
Tom Hostad
|
Executive Director - Hartford Area Development Corporation
|
Curt Pitzen
|
SRC Chair - Director - Newmark
|
Christian Tscheschlok
|
Executive Director - EDWC
|
Jim Healy
|
Administrator - Village of Richfield
|
Jen Heidtke
|
Administrator - Village of Jackson
|
Adam Gitter
|
Administrator - Village of Kewaskum
|
Steve Kreklow
|
SRC Vice Chair - Administrator - Village of Germantown
|
Site Redevelopment Program Funding Sources
As of 2024, Washington County has three brownfield funding sources:
Washington County Brownfields Environmental Assessment Fund
The Washington County Brownfields Environmental Assessment Fund assists in the assessment of brownfield sites in Washington County. The SRC determines site eligibility and considers project approval. The Washington County Executive Committee provides final approval on the project funding.
Washington County Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
The Washington County Brownfield RLF provides loans, for hazardous material testing, remedial action plans, environmental planning, remediation of contamination, asbestos abatement, demolition and reconstruction of brownfield sites.
U.S. EPA FY2020 Revolving Loan Fund Grant
The US EPA FY2020 grant period started in the fall of 2019 and the SRP is currently working with Economic Development Washington County to implement loans, support the remediation of contaminated sites, analyze brownfield cleanup alternatives, and create community involvement plans.
View the Reports submitted to the U.S. EPA below.