By Jeremy Gragert, Eau Claire
The Progressive Outpost – February 2008 (Published January 29, 2008)
The $59.1 million Eau Claire County building renovation and jail project approved last year, which includes a massive new three-story jail being sited between the current county building and the Chippewa River, is very close to the Just Local Food cooperative grocery at 772 First Ave. For months, preliminary site plans have shown a parking lot replacing the building that Just Local Food currently leases, making the worker-owners of the cooperative more than a little nervous about the future of their store.
“We want to stay here. It’s a great spot for a grocery store,” said Aaron Ellringer, a worker-owner who has been exploring Just Local Food’s options if the building’s owner, Gerald Niblett, agrees to sell the building to the county. Currently, the county is in the process of having the property independently appraised so an offer can be made to Niblett, said Frank Draxler, the city-county purchasing director who has taken on the role of project manager for the expansion project.
About half of all properties east of the current county building, between Lake Street and Grand Avenue, are under threat of being acquired by the county for either the new jail or new parking lots. The exceptions include all the Grand Avenue businesses, the houses directly on Lake Street, and the Victorian home at 751 Second Ave. Ellringer of Just Local Food questions why the building that the store operates out of was not given similar protection by the Eau Claire County Board.
Some county board members are wondering the same. County board supervisor Maureen Slauson, whose district includes the county building area, said she doesn’t understand why all of the commercial buildings along First Avenue are under threat by a riverfront parking lot. “There are a number of people on the county board who do not want to see this gone,” Slauson said, adding that the buildings have historical and aesthetic value even if they did not house the only grocery store in the downtown.
It has been grumblings like that that may have caused the latest jail site plan (released as a draft on January 11) to leave almost all of the commercial buildings on First Avenue intact, with the exception of a portion of Eau Claire FabriCare, an operating dry cleaning and laundry business at 768 First Ave. The sudden appearance of the commercial buildings on the plans surprised Ellringer of Just Local Food, because he said that Draxler and the acquisition firm hired by the county to appraise the property, Timbers-Selissen Land Specialists, Inc., has always made it quite clear to him that the county intends the store to be a parking lot before the end of the year.
“In order for us to stay here we need to improve the infrastructure of the buildings,” Ellringer said. “Nobody is going to improve the infrastructure of the buildings if the county is threatening to buy them and rip them down.” Because of that threat Just Local Food has been working with the city for months on finding a new location in the downtown, rather than spending time and resources to buy or improve the building they are currently occupying.
But recently, Chuck Gable, of Eau Claire, has been in contact with Just Local Food about how he could help financially support improvements to the buildings so that the cooperative could stay. Gable has even been in contact with Niblett about purchasing the buildings before the county makes an offer on them, but Niblett is waiting for the county’s offer first. Gable says removing the buildings and the businesses along First Avenue would be a mistake. “These buildings were built in the 1800’s for food distribution,” Gable said. “Just Local Food is providing the same service as the people who built the buildings had.
It is unclear whether Niblett, the owner of the properties, will sell to the county following the appraisal that is expected to be complete by February. According to Draxler, if Niblett does not want to sell at the price offered to him, the county is obligated to pay for a second independent appraisal, and if a deal can’t be worked out after a third appraisal the acquisition goes in front of a judge. In the end the county has the power to condemn individual properties, but not without the approval of the county board.
Draxler said the county has not had trouble acquiring properties to date, with each property acquisition having to get the approval of the county board. Draxler said that the county board has the final say, for example, over whether the buildings along First Avenue are purchased by the county or not. Supervisor Slauson, quoted earlier, said she would vote against the county purchasing the buildings. For the time being, Draxler says, the county is planning to offer Niblett a price for the buildings and will try to negotiate a purchase sometime in early February.
“My priorities are working with the site plan and making sure we have adequate parking,” said Draxler. “If we don’t need those buildings (for parking), we aren’t going to take the buildings.” Draxler said there is no set number of parking spaces required at this time, but at a minimum, the county would prefer to replace the number of parking spaces lost when the new jail is built on top of current surface parking. “It’s mainly up to how much parking we need and the cost of acquisition,” Draxler said, about whether to acquire certain properties outside of the jail footprint.
Draxler admitted that the owners of Eau Claire FabriCare, the dry cleaning business next to Just Local Food, do not want to sell their building to the county either. “FabriCare is concerned with its client base,” said Draxler, a base that is primarily people who dress formally and work at or near the county courthouse. A move elsewhere, even if the county pays FabriCare to relocate, could shut down the business if the cliental can’t be maintained.
To answer concerns of community members, one project workgroup formed in December, called the Community Advisory Team, has representatives from the neighborhood and area businesses and is charged with providing input on the outward appearance of the jail building and the basics of the site plan. Representatives of the Milwaukee-based firm Venture Architects, which has the contract for architectural and engineering services for the project, attend the meetings. Venture presented the latest site plan on January 11 showing the Just Local Food building on the plan for the first time. When asked why the buildings were on the site plan, Draxler said: “It was just the way the architect drew it at the time.
According to County Clerk Janet Loomis, the Community Advisory Team has no real decision-making power, and therefore the meetings of the workgroup are not given public notice. Technically, members of the general public are allowed to attend but must contact the county for meeting times and locations. Draxler said discussion of specific businesses would not be allowed at future Community Advisory Team meetings, which are scheduled every three weeks for the months ahead. It would not be appropriate to publicly negotiate the future of the buildings, and the Advisory Team does not have that authority anyway, Draxler said. “I’m not going to allow discussion of Just Local Food at those meetings,” insisted Draxler.
The future of the buildings, and whether Just Local Food will have to relocate, is expected to be decided by the end of March. Ellringer said the grocery cooperative is looking at all of its options, and are hoping to be included in discussions with the county officials and Timbers-Selissen, the firm hired to handle acquisition for the county. Ellringer summed up the uncertainty: “It’s a rollercoaster, that’s for sure.
Upcoming Meetings:
held in Rm 2550 of the Eau Claire County Courthouse
Public Open Houses
Wednesday, February 20 – 6:00pm
Wednesday, April 2 – 6:00pm
Community Advisory Team
Friday, February 1 – 7:30am
Friday, February 22 – 7:30am
