Three years later, Sharon struggles to fill void left by downtown fire
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SHARON — In 2006, fire ripped through downtown Sharon's only grocery store and the village is still seeking to fill the void.
Other communities in similar situations face the same challenges.
The Sauk Prairie Eagle reports that since April, fires have left gaps in downtown Richland Center, Blanchardville and in the northwestern Wisconsin community of Durand.
Dennis Marty, village president of Blanchardville in northeastern Lafayette County, told the paper he doesn’t know what’s in store for his downtown after a December fire killed four people.
Officials have looked to Sharon to see what might be in store for their own communities.
Sharon acquired one of two properties in 2007 for $9,200, the cost of tearing down and landscaping the lot, which is for sale. Other buildings in the village’s downtown are empty, which has meant low demand for a new building, said Diana Dykstra, president of the village of 1,552 people. The space that at one time was home to Ed’s IGA is now a park.
Other businesses have come in to take up some of the slack, but rebuilding the downtown remains a priority.
“It’s our only business district and to take away the meat and potatoes really hurt us,” Dykstra said of the area that includes a pizza shop, bakery, hair salon and antique stores. “The grocery brought people to those little shops.”
Source: www.wiscnes.com
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Feb 12, 2010 at 7:38 a.m.
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Simple-they weren't.
Feb 11, 2010 at 9:40 a.m.
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All in part to our last Village President Chuck Dorn and the Board. What were they thinking?
Feb 10, 2010 at 10:39 a.m.
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Ah, just wait...Sharon ain't seen nothin' yet!
As soon as the debt taken on for the "industrial park" land needs to be serviced, THAT'S when the fun starts.
Save your lunch money to pay those taxes, kids!
Feb 9, 2010 at 6:37 p.m.
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No matter...Its still a REAL CROCK!!
Feb 9, 2010 at 4:31 p.m.
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Utilities are taxed separately by the state. The property must be used for specific exempt purposes to qualify. The percentage of property thus exempted is part of the state shared revenue formula, so the city gets at least some of that money back.
Feb 9, 2010 at 3:46 p.m.
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It's not a big national utility, it's a small, local one. They provide excellent service, and are really what you would like all local companies to be. Can't blame the owner for taking advantage of an existing tax loophole.
Feb 9, 2010 at 1:56 p.m.
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*SO*, these big national utilities get a free-skate on their properties too?????
Feb 9, 2010 at 1:53 p.m.
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"utility" buildings are not assessed property taxes???.....WOW, I did NOT know that....sweetheart tax loopholes like that are complete BS!!!
Feb 9, 2010 at 9:26 a.m.
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Sharon has a long, uphill battle ahead. Now that the village has been saddled with an immense debt load, it is imperative to bring in new business to help service it.
One point that really should be made is that of the "empty" buildings, quite a few are owned by a local utility. They are purchased, and utility-related items stored in them, and so sit, empty and off the tax rolls.
On the one-block stretch that constitutes the "downtown" of Sharon, where the grocery was until it was torched by it's owner, there are 15 storefronts/business locations. Of those 15, 6 are empty, 3 are "businesses" operated, in some cases, only a few hours per month, and ONLY 6 are actual, full-time business locations. Not the best way to stock your downtown.
Sharon, and other towns like it, needs to offer incentives to get actual business to move in, and stop discouraging progress via taxation. These small towns should also realize that "hobby locations", small trash and treasures, craft stores and the like, do not offer the town much in the way of taxes, employment, or even traffic. AS long as this type of business is widespread, the town will be mordant.
Hopefully, Ms. Dykstra and the Board can turn around some of the policies that got the Village into the financial black-hole it is in now.
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