MARSHFIELD – Marshfield aldermen are hitting the pause button regarding action on the soon-to-be-vacant Weinbrenner building while they await more detailed cost estimates for its immediate preservation, and possibly another pitch for its redevelopment.
With Andrew Reigel absent, the common council voted 9-0 on Feb. 24 directing staff to come back with a breakdown of what it would cost the city to address a list of immediate projects for stabilizing the building once Weinbrenner moves out in several months.
With the city set to assume full maintenance responsibilities of the facility no later than July 1, City Administrator Steve Barg told the council an immediate need is what he called stabilization, including fully securing and weatherproofing the building, implementing a security plan, taking steps to prevent further deterioration, identifying any needed repairs and avoiding actions that threaten the facility’s historic eligibility.
He also noted the 2026 budget includes $35,000 to address these issues.
“The length of this phase, the stabilization phase, kind of depends on what happens next,” Barg told the council.
Alderman Derek Wehrman said he wanted to spend at least another month exploring other options for the property and drilling down further on what exactly the city’s stabilization plan would be and how much implementation of that plan would cost.
“We as a government in Marshfield seem to, in the past, have made a lot of decisions based on timing and I think a lot of them have come back to bite us,” said Wehrman. “I would love for us to keep discussing it and make it a focal point. We tend to get into a spot where we’re always behind the eight ball and we’re chasing instead of leading. Personally, I would like to buy us just that little bit of time, even if it’s just a month. We haven’t given this the time it probably deserves.”
In seeking council direction on an immediate action plan, Barg also presented several avenues for moving forward, including an affordable housing option, marketing the property publicly, securing professional consultant services and clearing the site and preparing the property for redevelopment.
Alderman Scott Koran said time is of the essence.
“I think we are looking at a very big issue trying to keep this building protected,” Koran said. “And this is also a big swing for us. We were taking in $48,000 a year. Now we’re going to be spending $35,000 at a minimum. That’s an $80,000 swing and we’re always talking about budgets and how we have no money. We need to do something quick.”
Alderman Rebecca Spiros said the city and council need to keep the public updated on the condition of the building and any related expenses with keeping or not keeping it, and those figures are currently unknown.
“This building, I think, really puts us in a bad predicament,” said Spiros. “I do understand the public’s perception of this building. I think this building is going to be very expensive no matter what choice we make. I just think that we’re in a bad position because we really don’t know the cost of any of these options. I feel like the $35,000 will be spent in ten minutes. I’m just very worried about the cost involved in trying to preserve this building.”
Barg said no matter which direction the city takes, it’ll be “maintaining that building for some period of time, so it’s hard to envision a scenario under which we’re not going to have at least some level of significant maintenance cost.”
Mike Feirer made another case for affordable housing.
“I think it’s time we make a decision on this. And taking it down is not an option. And the longer you wait, the worse it’s going to get,” Feirer said.
Previous developer interest has been limited to affordable housing projects, and Alderman Brian Varsho said, “I think that is the best option for this property. We need to unload this quick,” he added. “We don’t have the money to develop another property. We’re doing it with the police station already. We don’t have the capability of doing anything.”
The council asked Barg to reach out to Milwaukee-based J. Jeffers & Company, who submitted an affordable housing option in December 2024 in response to the city’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ).
“The redeveloped property would include approximately 80 residential apartments in one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom configurations. 100% of the apartments will be affordable for families at no more than 60% of county median income,” the Jeffers RFQ read.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wood County’s median income in 2024 was $68,000.
Applying that figure to the Jeffers proposal would put monthly rents “at no more than” $3,400.
As for their council-requested appearance at the March 10 Common Council meeting, “I have not even confirmed this yet, and the substance of their presentation has not been determined,” Barg told Hub City Times.
The city’s lease with Weinbrenner for its current shoe factory at 305 W. Third St., Marshfield, expires June 30.
With the assistance of the immediate past coordinator, Marshfield’s tourism entity will facilitate this summer’s concert series at Wenzel Family Plaza.
With Alderman Andrew Reigel absent, the common council voted 9-0 on Feb. 20 in favor of an agreement with Visit Marshfield “to plan, manage, promote, and operate the Hub City Concert Series, consisting of eight public concert events designed to enhance tourism, quality of life, and downtown vitality in Marshfield,” the document reads.
Under the terms of the agreement, Visit Marshfield and the City of Marshfield will each contribute $20,000 to create a baseline budget of $40,000 for the series.
“Sponsorships, grants, or external funding secured shall be in addition to the $40,000 baseline budget and shall be administered by Visit Marshfield or its contractors,” the contract further states.
Fundraising efforts brought in $37,000 between 2023 and 2025, according to Barg.
The new agreement comes after the council voted Feb. 10 to table the execution of a contract with Eventures Presents, LLC for entertainment consulting services related to the concert series, which was in limbo following the resignation last fall of a previous full-time Parks and Recreation Department employee, Nikki Anderson, who coordinated booking and related logistics for the series.
And while it is not spelled out specifically in the new agreement, Visit Marshfield Executive Director Matt McClean said that “the plan is to contract services from Nikki and work together” on coordinating this summer’s concert series.
In addition, the council voted 8-1 to refill the vacant Event & Program Coordinator position, which is included in the 2026 city budget. Alderman Mike O’Reilly cast the lone dissenting vote.
“This is a very important position and we owe it to the donors of the plaza because we promised them programming so this would be a plaza, not a park,” said Alderman Scott Koran.
Parks and Recreation Director Justin Casperson said Anderson’s duties went well beyond coordinating the plaza’s summer concert series.
“I think a lot of attention goes towards the concert series, but there were a lot of things that were done behind the scenes that Nikki was really vital for, and that was the connections with community groups, whether it was at Columbia [Park], whether it was at Wildwood [Park], whether it was at Wenzel [Family Plaza], she was kind of our go-to person to help with special-event logistics,” Casperson told the council. “Whether it was Hub City Days, Dairyfest, Maple Fall Fest, she was that person that went to those meetings to make sure whatever was needed from the city from an engineering perspective, from a Street Department perspective, from a Parks [and Recreation Department] perspective, she was the one that was kind of the eyes and ears for that.
“I would also ask her to attend BID (Business Improvement District) meetings, Main Street meetings, Design Committee meetings, things of that nature, which was helpful to kind of keep everyone on the same page, so she was kind of the nucleus,” Casperson continued. “And it was great Nikki was there, but now Nikki’s gone, so we kind of lose that nucleus. We lose that connection with all these groups.
“We have the Fourth of July fireworks,” he added. “Festival [Foods] is willing to give us another $20,000. Nikki coordinated those contracts and agreements with Festival, with the pyrotechnics company, as well as what was going on on the grounds that day, so it’s all that stuff that doesn’t really garner the attention the concert series does, but it was a way for the city to provide this service to all these groups, whether it was Main Street, whether it was even just a church group that wanted to do a Sunday morning service or whether it was yoga in the park, it was just a matter of having that person available.
“Nikki was doing that prior to coming with the city, so she was doing that when she was with Main Street [Marshfield],” Casperson clarified. “She came because it evolved to that point where she needed more resources, like our staff to help and storage and logistical things that really helped solidify that position. I’m not saying it has to stay in Parks and Rec. I’m not saying it has to stay with the city. But I think it’s important, as a community, we have that position somewhere. I think it’s a good fit with the city.”
Casperson thought the position could be filled within the next several months.
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