City Notes: Racine police plan upgrade to video capabilities; RCEDC contracts renewed

The Racine Police Department is preparing to upgrade one of its crime-fighting tools.

The department is set to purchase video file management software that will help its officers use video cameras to monitor and record criminal activity. The program will help the department - and eventually all city departments - organize photos and videos for easy access, said Deputy Chief Tom Christensen, who presented the software to the Finance and Personnel Committee Monday night.

For police, that will mean storing evidence for trials and ongoing investigations. It will also mean officers will be able to access neighborhood video cameras on laptops from their squad cars and catch suspects in the act from blocks away. Videos can be saved for up 90 days, which will allow investigators to review surveillance cameras.

Christensen said the Racine Unified School District and local businesses, like banks, may also be able to link into the system to help police monitor activity.

The committee voted unanimously to allow the police department waive formal bidding to buy the software from the Tough Solutions company. The city's information systems department researched the software and confirmed it was compatible with existing systems, Christensen said.

RCEDC

The Finance and Personnel Committee voted to renew the Racine County Economic Development Corp.'s contract with the city for 2010. The $69,400 contract will be paid out of the shared revenue from the city's sewer agreement with its neighboring communities. The City Council will vote on the contract next week.

RCEDC, part 2

The committee also voted to renew RCEDC's $55,000 contract for brownfield redevelopment. "Brownfields" are polluted lands unsuitable for development without cleansing. RCEDC coordinates efforts to clean up brownfields in Racine, which includes identifying properties that need remediation and finding grants to pay for the remediation.

RCEDC plans to focus on the former Racine Steel Castings and Walker manufacturing sites for its brownfield program, according to Tina Chitwood, a community development specialist with RCEDC.

The committee voted unanimously to renew the contract. The City Council will vote on the proposal next week.

Breast feeding grant

The city's Health Department is set to receive $17,656 from the state for a breast feeding peer counselor. The counselor is part of the city's WIC program, which serves 1,700 clients in Racine. The Finance and Personnel Committee voted to accept the grant, which requires no city money. The City Council is set to finalize the grant next week.

City fee goes down

Here's a change: A city fee is going down. The area's household hazardous waste program will cost local property owners $2.40 this year, down from $4 in 2009, according to Keith Haas, general manager of Racine's utilities. The drop in price is because the program's $100,000 annual cost is now spread over all communities east of I-94.

The Finance and Personnel Committee voted to accept the decrease, and the council will finalize the price next week.

Study: If done right, gas station OK in West Racine

A consultant hired to study West Racine's retail market said Tuesday night the gas station Tom Tousis wants to build as part of his $5 million development would be OK on the vacant lot at Washington Avenue and West Boulevard.

Kennedy Smith, of the Arlington, Va.-based Clue Group, told the West Racine Business Improvement District said gas pumps would work if they are not located on Washington Avenue, according to people at the meeting.

"She doesn't have a problem with a gas station in the district," one person at the meeting said.

Alderman Terry McCarthy, who was at the meeting, said Smith was more concerned about the look of Tousis's gas station than there being a gas station. "It needs to fit into an urban environment," McCarthy said, paraphrasing Smith's conclusions.

Tousis took steps in that direction recently when he released drawings of a proposed gas station canopy for the site that would resemble a train depot.

A rough sketch of the train depot canopy Tom Tousis is proposing in West Racine.

Overall, Smith's report was good news for Tom Tousis, who is trying to build a $5 million grocery store, restaurant, gas station and bank. Tousis' proposal has met opposition from people opposed to the gas station.

But Smith's recommendations may require changes to Tousis's proposal. She recommended the main buildings run along Washington Avenue with gas pumps located behind the buildings.

"Pulling (the buildings) to the street is critical," the person at the meeting said.

Tousis' team has said in the past it's not possible to build entirely along Washington Avenue because of utility easements that run through the property.

That aside, a supporter of Tousis' project said Smith's report supported their contention that the grocery store, restaurant, gas station and bank would bring foot and car traffic to West Racine that would benefit all surrounding businesses. The key, though, is the development has to built and maintained at a high level.

"It would be a perfect fit as long as it was done right," they said, paraphrasing Smith's report. "It can't be a Kwik-E Mart kind of thing. It has to look completely different from the norm for the gas station you usually see in Racine."

Smith's retail market report for West Racine will be available in two to three weeks. She was also hired by the Racine County Economic Development Corporation to study business districts in Caledonia, Waterford and Union Grove.

The four studies cost $56,900. RCEDC contributed $37,500 and the participating municipalities each contributed $4,850.

Gas station in West Racine would be 'unacceptable' under work group's proposal

We reported last week on a West Racine "work group" that had been quietly meeting to discuss the vacant lot at the corner of Washington Avenue and West Boulevard. The group included three aldermen and two top city development officials, along with eight or nine city residents.

The group was organized to gather a series of recommendations for the Redevelopment Authority of Racine, which owns the vacant lot. Despite being leaked a draft of the recommendations, we held off reporting them until a revised list could be put together. Now, we have the revised list - and it's very similar to the original list we saw last week.

That's not good news for Tom Tousis, the Racine businessman trying to build a bank, gas station, grocery store and sit-down restaurant on the site. At the same time, it's good news for opponents of the project.

The work group proposal labels the gas station an "unacceptable" use that is inconsistent with the West Racine plan. If approved by the Redevelopment Authority, the proposal may kill Tousis's $5 million development before it ever reaches the City Council. (The full list of recommendations is below.)

The revised draft of recommendations out to members of the work group Tuesday night. People on the list included: Aldermen Aron Wisneski, Terry McCarthy and Jim Spangenberg; Jeannie Creekmore, Frank Ricchio, Keith Deschler, Jim and Sally Neitzel, Larry Gregg, Nancy Smith, Robert and Jenny Gonazlez, Robin Wilson, Steve Torosian and Timothy Casey.

(The group includes all five members of the West Racine Business Improvement District, plus West Racine business owners and residents, and the real estate agent listing the site.)

A public meeting on the recommendations is scheduled for Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. in the Sanctuary of Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 3319 Washington Ave. The meeting will also be announced in West Racine with automated calls.

Here are the recommendations:

DRAFT REPLACEMENT TEXT
WEST RACINE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

PREFERRED USES [revised text]

Preferred uses: High quality commercial development featuring street level retail is the preferred land use for the redevelopment. Examples of preferred uses are:

· Full service grocery.

· Table-service restaurant.

· Multi-tenant retail building, featuring shops such as: hobby shop, book store, bank or other savings deposit institution, gelato/ice cream shop, bicycle shop, jewelry store, men’s and/or women’s clothing store, and other specialty retail, except as prohibited below. The separately listed required and permitted uses may also be combined within the building. The building may be a conventional multitenant building or a market pavilion that blends common areas and pedestrian areas with the retail space.

· Outdoor seating.

Permitted uses: The Authority may permit, on a case-by-case basis, uses that are consistent with the objectives of the West Racine plan and are compatible with and supporting of the preferred uses. Such uses would not be the exclusive use of the property. Examples of permitted uses are:

· Owner-occupied housing units.

· Senior (55+) rental housing.

· Fast food restaurant without drive-through.

Unacceptable uses: The Authority shall not permit uses that are inconsistent with West Racine plan even though the use may be permitted by the zoning code of the City of Racine. Such uses include but are not limited to:

· Car wash.

· Gas Station.

· Pawn shop.

· Rental housing – general population.

· Buildings four stories or taller.

· Bar/tavern.

· Convenience stores.

· Car sales.

· Fast food with drive through.

· Rent-to-own store.

As a part of the acquisition and demolition of the buildings formerly on the property, the Authority removed certain uses from the property. The Authority will record a deed restriction prohibiting such uses from returning to the property. These uses are:

· Check cashing, pay day loan, and similar stores.

· Resale and second-hand stores.

· Tobacco store.

· Tattoo parlor.

· Automobile repair garage.

PROVISION FOR FARMERS MARKET [new section]

All proposals must consider and explicitly address the continued operation of the farmers market that is currently on the property. The size of the market, location on the site or relocation to another site, and other changes may be considered. The developer is expected to work with the West Racine Business Association, which is the sponsor of the farmers market, regarding its future.

RCEDC helps local manufacturing company expand

The Racine County Economic Development Corporation put out some good news today about a Racine business. Nelson Bros & Strom Co. at 1620 Racine St. expanded its operation with a low-interest loan. Here's the release from RCEDC:

Racine County Economic Development Corporation (RCEDC), in partnership with M&I Bank, has assisted Nelson Bros & Strom Co., Inc. in purchasing a new CNC machine for their business located at 1620 Racine Street, in Racine, WI. In an effort to assist a seasoned manufacturing company to become more competitive in the market, while also creating new jobs for the City of Racine, RCEDC’s business finance division, Business Lending Partners, offered Nelson Bros & Strom a loan with a 2.44% interest rate to be used towards the purchase of the new equipment.

In June 2009, Nelson Bros & Strom was seeking to expand their business and was contemplating the purchase of a new 5-axis vertical CNC machining center that would increase their customer base and improve production efficiencies. When the Company found out about the City of Racine’s low interest rate financing program administered by Business Lending Partners, they decided it was the right time to acquire the machine.

Mayor Dickert, a strong supporter of the loan program, stated “The City’s low interest rate programs are a great way for local companies to become more competitive in the market place, improving their cash flow and helping them to expand.” The low down payment requirement of the program allowed Nelson Bros & Strom to free up capital for other working capital purposes while the reduced interest rate lowered their monthly payments. Nelson Bros & Strom hopes that being one of the only manufacturing companies in Racine with the technology offered by their new CNC machine will help set them apart from their competitors. The City of Racine stands to benefit from this project as well.

Dickert was quoted as saying, “The City of Racine will benefit from the opportunity to create new manufacturing jobs for a community suffering from an unemployment rate of over 16%, the 2nd highest rate in the State of Wisconsin."

The interest rates on small business loans currently offered by RCEDC have been reduced from 4% to as low as 2% to help stimulate business growth throughout not only the City of Racine, but the rest of Racine County as well. Individuals and Companies seeking to start or expand a business are encouraged to contact Business Lending Partners, a division of RCEDC, for low rate financing options.

For more information, please contact Carolyn Engel of Business Lending Partners at (262) 898-7420, or visit our website at www.businesslendingpartners.org.

Pilot plant at CATI ... here's the rest of the story

Earlier today, we wrote about the new R&D pilot plant being constructed within the existing CATI building to produce a healthy milk product without cholesterol called Benelact.

Well, as Paul Harvey might have said, here's the rest of the story... the way this project touches area high schoolers, collegians and even Girl Scouts.

The project is loaded with academic linkages -- opportunities for students throughout the area to learn, work and participate in the creation of this new product. Alliance Enterprises, the company creating this start-up, sees its $1.5 million project both as an exciting new business, and as a way "to work in our values and give back to the community," said Brandon Malacara, Alliance's dairy division marketing director.

And so, Alliance is working with Therese Fellner, Gateway Technical College's director of business development -- she's the on-site manager for the business incubator that's part of CATI -- to find ways to provide both professional employment and student employment as part of the project. And boy, have they come up with a bunch of opportunities across a wide spectrum! For example:

Burlington High School has an R&D chemistry class that creates personal care products. Fellner already has spoken with Burlington's superintendent and principal to find ways to get their students working in the plant, getting experience with R&D and perhaps getting school credit at the same time.

Burlington is a good match in another way: Alliance -- which is minority-owned by Edward Salinas -- can be a role model for the district's Hispanic students. "The superintendent sees this as an opportunity to get his Hispanic student population excited about science and math, get some experience and get some of those kids to start altering their course selection," Dr. Fellner said.

Gateway Technical College has a culinary arts program, and the aim is to get students involved in nutrition to work on R&D and marketing -- with both internships and jobs.

Carthage and Parkside have chemistry departments that may be a source of chemistry assistants as well as a chemist with gas chromatography and sample preparation experience.

Even Girl Scouts may be involved as this patent given to CATI by Kraft is developed for market. Fellner has applied for a grant through the General Mills Foundation's Champions for Healthy Kids project. They fund organizations with innovative programs that help youth develop good nutrition and fitness habits. "We're working with the Girl Scouts of Southeast Wisconsin, Gateway and Parkside in proposing that girls 11-14 deliver a program that will focus on nutrition and health and this innovative technology. Alliance would be able to come in and provide experience and products, menu planning and taste tests."

Fellner also said the Humana Foundation is interested in funding organizations that promote new technology and tools that lead to a healthier community. Alliance and Gateway will work with the Culinary Arts Department on the Racine campus to help them understand and use this new, lower-cholesterol product.

Matthew Wagner, CATI executive director, is looking forward to an expansion of programs for students in the natural sciences catalyzed by the Alliance project. "This is a chance to teach them about business and entrepreneurship, to create mentorships and project-based learning. So very many educational institutions are playing a role in this."

"We're all thrilled to have Alliance here," Fellner said. "This is an environment that facilitates this kind of networking.

Pilot plant for dairy product being built at CATI

A 4,000 sq. ft. pilot plant for the research and development of a new, healthy dairy ingredient based on patented technology licensed from CATI is under construction in Sturtevant.

The Center for Advanced Technology & Innovation (CATI) announced that Alliance Enterprises of SE Wisconsin will use the plant, located in the CATI center, for initial production of Benelact, according to Brandon Malacara, Alliance's dairy marketing director.

“We are excited to be located in the CATI Center. Technological innovation and the economic growth of Wisconsin are as important to us as they are to them,” Malacara said. Alliance's existing facility,on Four Mile Road, is, according to the company's website, "a single-source assembly, custom contract packaging, warehousing, distribution and fulfillment facility." Benelact is the centerpiece of a new division.

CATI licensed the proprietary process now known as Benelact to Alliance Enterprises four years ago. The all-natural process extracts cholesterol from milk to create a healthy milk ingredient without altering the taste, texture, or properties of the milk. Matt Wagner, CATI executive director, said the technology was originally developed by Kraft Foods and donated to CATI.

The Benelact process removes up to 80 per cent of cholesterol and saturated fat from milk, resulting in a healthier product that can function as milk in a variety of food products. It will be marketed to dairy and bakery markets as an ingredient providing "healthy consumer options while still retaining the taste, texture and consistency that consumers desire,” Malacara said.

The project represents an estimated $1.5 million investment, Wagner said.

Robin Vos' KRM initiative ... gets icy reception

UPDATED, 01/11: The reaction to Vos' proposal was chilly enough to reverse global warming. "If you were trying to author a bill that would not succeed, that's maybe how you would draft it," said Karl Ostby, RTA chairman, as quoted in the Journal Times. Dave Eberle, RAMAC chairman, said, "Most people in the room were fairly disappointed."

Admit it: You thought this post would be blank!

"Many people think the answer to Racine's future is a train," State Rep. Robin Vos said today. "I have not said KRM would not be a good thing ... the only thing I've said is that the funding mechanism was wrong."

With that preamble, Vos, R-63rd Assembly District -- characterized by some as the Darth Vader who single-handedly killed the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee rail initiative -- announced his plan to fund KRM: a sales-tax-supported Regional Transit Authority. As opposed to the $13 car rental tax plan that was effectively pronounced truly and fully dead earlier this week.

Vos is meeting tomorrow with the boards of directors of the Racine County Economic Development Corporation (RCEDC), Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce (RAMAC) and Forward Racine to get their input -- and support? -- for his proposal, a bill still being drafted that he hopes to introduce in the Legislature next week.

The as-yet-untitled bill (Vos laughed when I suggested it be called the "Robin Vos Doesn't Really Hate Trains Act") would allow the establishment of Regional Transit Authorities anywhere in Wisconsin, if local voters supported the idea through a referendum. "This is not necessarily the easy way," he said, defining that "easy way" as "just allowing a politician to raise taxes."

Vos' RTA proposal "would allow communities to band together" in two ways. He outlined a two-tier system:

Tier 1 would allow two communities to put a sales tax in place to support a "mobile" transportation system -- i.e., buses running between two cities.

Tier 2 would allow "fixed mode" transportation systems -- i.e., rail on a fixed route -- to be supported. This larger, more capital-intensive plan would require a population threshhold of at least 375,000 with favorable votes in at least five communities, each with at least 10,000 citizens. (Because Milwaukee County already has a Regional Transit Authority, it would be counted as one entity of the necessary five, Vos said.)

Details still to be worked out include the wording of the referendum question, Vos said.

Vos took issue with those who say KRM would, single-handedly, lead to economic recovery. "To grow the economy, you need college-educated families with children." And when you ask those families what they want, he said, they respond: "a safe community and a good school system."

"KRM is a single part of an economic strategy," Vos said, disagreeing with "those who say it's all we need."

River's Bend Engineering moves to Renaissance

River’s Bend Engineering (RBE) is moving to the Renaissance Business Park in Sturtevant.

RBE is a Civil, Environmental and Electrical Engineering, Automation and Controls, Design-Build and Information Technology firm, whose revenues have been growing an average of 25% per year. The company is hiring one more engineer, and anticipates hiring up to two additional staff in the near future.

The company also has offices in Auburn, IN, and is also licensed to practice engineering in Illinois, Alabama, and Florida. RBE’s engineers bring extensive experience in the field of industrial wastewater treatment, industrial process design and control systems, environmental compliance and electrical power system analysis and design.

In addition, control systems experts design wastewater control panels and automation systems. The majority of RBE’s clients are within the industrial market segment.

RBE's new address will be 1611 Renaissance Boulevard, Sturtevant.

Burlington attracts concrete products maker, 90 jobs

A Milwaukee manufacturer of concrete products used in highway construction will build a 100,000 sq. ft. plant in Burlington, employing 90-95 workers.

RexCon LLC manufactures portable and stationary concrete plants, concrete paving products and provides parts and machining services. Among its products is a portable concrete batch plant that produces up to 200 cubic yards an hour.

The new facility, expected to open in late 2008, will be built in the City of Burlington's Manufacturing and Office Park.

RexCon manufactures all of its products and performs installation and field support services. The company, founded in 1919 as part of Rex Chainbelt, currently occupies a 140,000 sq. ft. leased facility, on the northwest side of Milwaukee near Good Hope Road. The company's search for a new site included areas throughout southeast Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

RexCon President Jake Jacob said, "Burlington is a community that is continuing to grow ... providing RexCon with the workforce to help run our facility. The quality of life in Burlington, as well as its location in the Chicago-Milwaukee Corridor, attracts the quality workforce tht RexCon will need to compete in an international economy."

Jacob credited Burlington Mayor Claude Lois, the Racine County Economic Development Corporation and others for helping to locate appropriate sites and meeting the company's needs in a timely manner. Final completion of the project's details awaits a decision by state officials on financial assistance.

Of secrets, perception and the catbird seat

These are good times for Gordy Kacala, executive director of RCEDC.

He has secrets to keep.

After almost three decades working to enhance the economic development of Racine County, Kacala is busy bringing together developers, communities and landowners – all (hopefully!) to provide tax base, jobs and services for county residents.

How many secrets is Kacala holding close right now? More than 1.5 million of them -- if each square foot of soon-to-be-announced construction is counted as a secret.

Kacala really wants to take me into his confidence; he gives hints, lets me guess wrong once or twice, helps me narrow it down. Then, when I finally come up with the right company behind an upcoming project, he swears me to secrecy, alas.

In the past month, three large projects have been announced: a 380,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Sturtevant, and two warehouses totalling 420,000 sq. ft. in Mount Pleasant.

These, encompassing 126 acres, are just the tip of the iceberg. There are approximately 900 acres of business-industrial potential just in the narrow corridor between Highways 11 and 20, and I-94 and Hwy. V.


The 900-acre figure is significant in light of a 2005 SEWRPC study which examined all developable land in existing industrial/business parks in Racine County. The study concluded that less than 500 available acres met seven key criteria (streets, sewers, buildable, etc.) in the entire county.

Expect a major announcement from that other end of the county soon. (Hint: “Burlington is our hottest community.”)

Which still leaves more than 1 million square-feet of development in Kacala's pipeline.

“I'm surprised by the size; they're huge,” Kacala says. “We're back to large facilities. Companies are centralizing their regional focus.”

But why should we care about warehouses when it's really manufacturing jobs we want and need?

Kacala lets me know, in no uncertain terms. (He tells me the same question was asked by a certain reporter I consider dumber than a rock. I am mortified.)

“Warehouse-distribution centers are good for three reasons: They bring tax base; given our location they're an understandable use; and, finally, because of changes in manufacturing and out-sourcing, this is the way business is done today.”

Get the warehouse, and it “solidifies” a company's presence. “Warehousing and manufacturing go together,” he says.

Furthermore, “If people see things happening, it will change perceptions,” he says. “We've got to change the minds of people who live here first.”

There's another, less-benign reason why we should be glad developers are building distribution warehouses here: Our existing labor force isn't ready for manufacturing jobs.

Yes, the city of Racine has an 8.6% unemployment rate (the rest of the county is about half that). But Kacala cites the 2000 Census, which showed that 42% of males age 18-24 don't have a high school education. A sobering statistic.

That was six years ago; Kacala estimates the figure might hold true today for 18-28-year-olds, or 18-30's. Two local companies, he says, “bought robots because they can't find trained people.”

“We're competing with China,” he says.

Pointing to the small amount of newly available industrial land within the city, the former Jacobsen-Textron site, Kacala says: “It's not the availability of land that's the problem, it's the labor force.” He's had to deliver that unhappy message to a number of inner-city organizations seeking jobs for their constituents. Education is the key.

The development is coming; if we don't improve our own labor force, Kacala says, more than a million workers live in the I-94 corridor, from Lake County to Milwaukee; “relatively good commuting distance.”

Development will provide a range of jobs. Yes, warehouse jobs are at the lower end, but it's all we can now fill.

“If we get the businesses here, and unemployment is still 10%, then we've (failed) big-time.”

Today, “every location within a softball throw of Milwaukee is developed.”

Kacala says he receives one or two development inquiries a week, and 10-15% of those turn out to become projects we have a shot at. “Fifty-two a year; if you get 10 of those, that's pretty substantial.”

For now, Racine County is in the catbird seat.