The Viroqua Public Record: October 27, 2026
Digging into the city's plan to pull the old Ford building, Quillins, and other familiar parcels into TID 7, the mixed health of our four tax districts, and the Veterans Memorial Commission's $100 name fee, school-district eligibility rule, and the two veterans — one a Civil War soldier — newly approved for engraving.
Your neighbor's guide to what's happening at City Hall — October 27, 2026
The Big Takeaway
The city has been redrawing the lines around one of its development districts, and the parcels involved are ones you drive past every week. At a July 7 meeting, the Joint Review Board reviewed a draft amendment that would add property near Asbury & Railroad, Arena Drive, the former Ford building, and the old Quillins to Tax Incremental District No. 7 [1]. A TID (tax incremental district) is a tool where, for a set number of years, the new property tax revenue generated inside the district's boundaries goes back into improvements there instead of into the general pot shared by the city, county, school district, and tech college. Pulling those parcels in is a bet that redevelopment will follow. The board heard the draft and set a public hearing for July 15 and a follow-up meeting for August 10; those sessions aren't covered in the records available here, so if you want to know where the amendment landed, City Hall is the place to ask [1].
Money Watch
• The Joint Review Board's main financial business was reviewing the annual reports for each of the city's districts — the state forms are called PE-300s. Andrew Kurtz of Vierbicher and Sean Lentz of Ehlers & Associates walked the board through them. The short version: TID 4 is running a deficit, while TIDs 5, 6, and 7 show surpluses, though Lentz noted the landfill isn't included in the figures for No. 7 [1]. The minutes don't record any dollar amounts, so there's no honest way to translate this into a per-household number — the actual balances live in the PE-300 forms themselves.
• Lentz also explained that TIDs 4 and 5 are past their expenditure period, meaning no new projects can be funded out of them. Board member Charles Jacobson asked that notes on past amendments be written down for future board members to follow; Kurtz said he'd work with Ehlers on it [1].
• Over at the Veterans Memorial, the Commission voted on April 29 to set the charge for adding a name to the memorial at $100 [2]. Commission members also received a quote from Chad at Cousin's Concrete for an 8-to-10-foot retaining wall near Proline Printing. No figure appears in the minutes, and the group placed it in its five-year plan rather than acting on it [2].
Coming Up
📍 CITY HALL LOWER-LEVEL COMMUNITY ROOM
💻 Join by Zoom (Meeting ID: 841 5311 4418)
📄 Full agenda
📍 CITY HALL LOWER-LEVEL COMMUNITY ROOM
💻 Join by Zoom (Meeting ID: 854 8975 4184)
📄 Full agenda
📍 Viroqua Fire Station, 911 Nelson Parkway, Viroqua WI
💻 In person only — no online option listed
📄 Full agenda
Meetings are open to the public — most have a public comment period near the top of the agenda. See the city's full meeting calendar for dates beyond the next two weeks.
The Quick Rundown
• Who decides who gets a name on the memorial. The Veterans Memorial Commission settled a question that had been hanging: eligibility will be based on the Viroqua Area School District boundaries. Todd Spaeth reported that Richland Center accepts requests from its entire county and Cashton uses its school district; Viroqua went with the school district model [2].
• Leadership set for both bodies. The Joint Review Board elected Mayor Krista Browne as chair and appointed Chet Melcher as its citizen at-large member [1]. The Veterans Memorial Commission named Dan Stalsberg chair and Steve Thompson vice chair [2].
• Protests at the memorial. The Commission asked its attorney whether demonstrations could be restricted at the site. The answer: because the memorial is legally a park, the city can't restrict speech based on its content and has no compelling reason to deny access. If something blocked traffic or endangered public safety, that would be a different matter [2].
• Memorial upkeep. TruGreen applied the first of four lawn treatments, the Navy flag was replaced, and a fence panel is broken and leaning toward the neighboring house — Todd Spaeth agreed to take a look. Todd Kirking was asked to get a quote from Brian Turben on straightening the engraved panels [2].
• Looking five years out. Stalsberg floated adding a soldier statue and relocating the flower garden onto the concrete out front. Sidewalk repair and the site's water system usage are also on the long-range list. Future panels may add Space Force and the National Guard 32nd Red Arrow Division, 107th Maintenance [2].
One More Thing
Two names were approved for engraving on the Veterans Memorial, and both came with a story. Simon Reistad served in the Civil War — the Veterans Service Office supplied the paperwork. Chester Rude technically lived in Westby, which would ordinarily put him outside Viroqua's boundaries. But his brother's name is already on the memorial, and the Commission decided the two belonged together. Both requests passed unanimously [2].
Sources
[1] Joint Review Board Minutes, July 7, 2026 — View Document
[2] Veterans Memorial Commission Minutes, April 29, 2026 — View Document
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The Viroqua Public Record is an independent community summary of public meetings. It is not affiliated with the City of Viroqua.