METRO BRiEFS

Separation of church and school

A group charged the school with supporting a religious org; but district officials say no favoritism

An organization concerned with the separation

of church and state sent a letter to the Wausau School District accusing the district of improperly supporting a religious organization.

The event, which hosted Every Black Life Matters speaker Kevin McGary at Wausau East, the group alleges was allowed to get discount pricing and because it was a religious organization, should have been charged the full rate.

The group Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter dated June 17 to Superintendent Keith Hilts via email and U.S. Mail, according to a copy of the letter sent to City Pages.

The letter states that the Wisconsin Family Council funded the event, and that Every Black Life Matters promotes a Christian perspective as a “Biblical alternative” to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The school district employs a three-tier system for charging events. Tier 1 benefits students primarily, tier 2 benefits the hosting organization and students, and tier 3 only benefits the hosting organization.

By charging the tier two pricing, FFRF leaders says, the school district was essentially subsidizing a religious organization to the tune of roughly $970.

In a later press release, FFRF said a citizen made them aware of the meeting.

McGary also spoke at the Marathon County Board’s education meeting in May, prompting a proposed change in speaker policy after McGary said Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg wants to exterminate black people. Gibbs later apologized to Rosenberg for not stopping the meeting when it devolved into personal attacks.

Joseph McDonald of the FFRF told City Pages he had not as of Monday received a response to the letter/email.

Hilts in a statement delivered to media outlets in response to the letter says the group’s needs were minimal, and so district officials felt the second tier was the appropriate one to charge. Custodial fees were waived initially due to a clerical error, but have been retroactively charged, Hilts says.

Hilts says the district adheres to separation of church and state while also wanting to allow for a variety of viewpoints, which sometimes might seem to contradict each other. The fee structure is meant to allow access while also not subsidizing outside groups.

Former Wausau River District director returns as Community Development Director

The Wausau River District’s former director will return as the city’s new Community Development Director.

The city hired Liz Brodek earlier this month. Brodek worked as the Wausau River District Executive Director from Dec. 2014 to March 2018, before working for the city of Eau Claire and later business districts in Milwaukee.

“I’m really looking forward Elizabeth Brodek to coming back to a place I love, with people I love,” Brodek told City Pages. “I’d been looking at coming back for years, but I just couldn’t find the right position.” The community development director was a good fit for her and her skills, Brodek told City Pages, and former retired Community Development Director Ann Werth encouraged her to apply.

Brodek plans to spend the early part of her time at the city listening to the community and taking note of the gaps that need to be filled. She has some future plans, such as making sure new developments are environmentally conscious and sustainable. Natural resources are an important part of the community, Brodek told City Pages.

Mayor Katie Rosenberg expressed excitement about Brodek bringing her skills to the city. “We are thrilled to welcome Elizabeth Brodek back to Wausau,” Rosenberg says. “Her passion for Wausau combined with her deep knowledge of the economic and business development landscape across our region will help us design an economic development program that helps us meet our city goals and needs. I know she’s ready to hit the ground running.”

Brodek will start Aug. 11. Her salary is $104,894.

Wausau, Weston seek new contract with convention and visitors bureau

Wausau and Weston leaders are weighing a new contract with the Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau following last year’s fallout over room tax dollars.

Wausau earlier this month approved a new non-exclusive agreement that lays out specific terms for the CVB to follow. CVB’s services include marketing, providing information to tourists and tangible municipal development such as a convention center. It specifies the room tax dollars are not to be used for a lodging facility.

The village of Weston is close to approving a similar deal. The Weston Village Board Monday sent the matter to its tourism commission. Village President Mark Maloney told City Pages the village is interested in a very similar contract to Wausau’s. Greater transparency is a key element, he says.

City leaders and several other municipalities pulled out of their agreements with the CVB to handle their room tax dollars after Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg accused CVB Director Dick Barrett accepting room tax dollars from Expedia on behalf of the city without disclosing it to city leaders. Barrett at the time had said he intended to hand them over, but didn’t mention the money until city leaders confronted him after learning Expedia had sent him the money.

Barrett retired earlier this year.

Municipalities must work with a tourism entity for a portion of their dollars, and another portion can be allocated via a room tax commission, following a law meant to restrict room tax dollars from being used for non-tourism uses. Yet another portion can be retained by the municipality, though that amount diminishes over time.

Wausau leaders pass compromise over botched incentive contract

City leaders approved a new agreement with software firm CGI over a botched contract with the company CGI took over for.

The city council earlier this month approved a settlement with CGI that forgives $145,000 of the $200,000

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payment Collaborative Consulting received. Collaborative ultimately merged with CGI, and CGI’s leaders told city officials they knew nothing about the contract.

Under the development agreement, CGI was to reach an employment number of 200 employees in the Wausau area over a five year period. Instead, it only reached 103 by the end of the five years. Attempts to follow up on the broken contract were thwarted by former Community Development Director Chris Schock, city leaders learned earlier this year.

Wausau Events adds new fireworks-themed event

Wausau Events announced last week that it is adding a new fireworks-themed event, shortly after hiring a new director.

The event, called Family Fireworks Fest, is slated for Sept. 24-25 at the Wausau Airport. The event will use fireworks Wausau Events had purchased for another event in 2019, says Wausau Events Director Alissandra Aderholdt. It will also include kids games, local food vendors, and live music before hosting what promises to be the largest fireworks display in the Wausau area.

Saturday’s activities will feature a Fireworks Frenzy 5K, along with kids races. Then the afternoon will see a “Sconnie Sampler” event featuring Wisconsin beers and foods.

“We know how important our events are to building community in the Wausau area” Aderholdt says. “We are very excited to offer an entire weekend of activities for the entire family to enjoy.”

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▲ American Pickers could be coming to central Wisconsin. (Contributed)

American Pickers could film in Wisconsin this July

The History Channel’s hit series “American Pickers” could be filming in Wisconsin this July.

The series sees hosts Mike Wolf and Frank Fritz exploring the American countryside in search of “rusty gold,” otherwise known as antiques or collectible items. The show highlights the history of the items along with the stories of the people and places attached to them.

Series Lead Story Producer Tom Carrera says the duo will be in Minnesota and Wisconsin during July, following tips and leads across the states.

“They are looking for things to buy, but also characters and stories,” Carrera said in an interview. “They love stories, and if you have items that tell a story that’s even better.”

Carrera added that the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down some aspects of shooting the show, but the boys are still out in the field picking.

“It was weird when it first started, we shut down for a while, but we got together and looked for ways to do things safely,” Carrera said.

Carrera has been working on the show since 2011, and spent 2 years as a field crew member, scouting out locations on the road with Mike and Frank.

“The guys are honestly a hoot,” Carrera laughed. “They are from the Midwest, so it’s kind of like an extension of home to them. It’s part of their quoteunquote home.”

No public appearances are scheduled for July. If you have a private collection or have a lead for the American Pickers, contact 1.855.OLD.RUST (653-7878) or AmericanPickers@cineflix.com. Please include your name, city and state, contact information, and a brief description of your collection. (Taylor Hale/MMC)

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