By Jamie Taylor

Foto news reporter

Area residents, civic and business leaders gathered in the Common Council chambers last Tuesday evening for the first meeting to determine how best to develop the land alongside Highway 51.

The meeting was an offshoot of a community focus group that met one-and-a-half years ago to determine the future of the Merrill area. Two topics came out of that study, developing the riverfront area and business development along the highway. Since then, a plan to develop the riverfront has all but been finalized and now the focus is turning to the highway corridor.

"We will follow pretty much the same process," said City Administrator Tony Chladek. "Tonight is the start of the process."

Sharon Woods, of LandUse/USA of Lansing, MI and Craig Donze of One Source Consulting of Milwaukee conducted the meeting, which was devoted to gathering input and opinions from those in attendance. Woods said the project will have several key approaches:

• Focus on the Highway 51 corridor

• A mix of retail, residential and office space

• Spotlight and develop entertainment and entertainment amenities

• Develop a more regional perspective and linkages

• Reflect economic realities

• Focus on parcel and development specific plans

• Develop collaboration between the county, city and townships

Wood said the most important thing that must be kept in mind is that the City of Merrill cannot do this alone.

"We have to think not only how Merrill sits by itself, but also how it fits into the regional picture," she said.

She said since many of the parcels that will be developed sit in surrounding townships, with over 80% in the Town of Pine River, carrying out some of the recommendations will depend on some intergovernmental cooperation.

Wood said the plan will examine the businesses, industries and amenities already in the area and try to diversify the employment opportunities in any new businesses brought into the area. She said that a 2007 study showed that 20% of all employed adults in Lincoln County worked in manufacturing.

"One of the things we heard most frequently was job creation," Woods said.

The key question the plan will have to answer is how important is year-round employment versus growing tourism. She said while she would like to see job growth in the health care and social assistance fields, retail would be one area looked at in great detail. At the same time, the approach will be to develop retail opportunities that compliment what is already in the area.

"We are not here to put any downtown business out of business, I don’t want to lose a single business," Woods said. "But at the same time we need to look at existing vacancies and what would best fit in them."

She repeatedly stressed that a regional approach was the best way to develop the Highway 51 corridor.

"What is good for the Highway 51 corridor is good for downtown and the townships," she said.

After being briefed some more, the people broke into groups and went through a list of options for business growth in the area. Each group was to pick their top five options and come to a consensus on a top three.

When the groups reported their top three, creating more year-round jobs, diversifying the industry mix and smart land use and planning were those mentioned the most. Growing tourism in the area was generally said to be a low priority among the groups because the events in the Merrill area are already well known.

A lack of education for the jobs that are in the area was cited by one group that ranked education high on their list. Creating a true sense of a gateway to the city near the highway was also said to be important by several groups. It was noted by several groups that what is currently in place at the city limits does not make a good impression on those coming to the area. Giving visitors a reason to explore beyond the downtown area would have to be considered, as well.

Donze said that the Merrill area has a golden opportunity in developing the area around the Highway 51 exit.

"Merrill is really the first easy off/easy on opportunity north of Highway 29," he said. "You really can’t do that in Wausau anymore."

In addition to the ranking of opportunities, each member of the focus group was also given a questionnaire to be filled out and returned. The information gained from these forms would also help the developers figure out what would be best for the area.

Chladek said this was the first of several meetings to refine the development plan.

"We will be coming back a few more times," he said.

Town of Pine River Chairman Bill Zeitz said that his township would be willing to listen to any development proposals that come out of the meetings. However, if the City of Merrill were to pursue annexing any Township land along the highway as part of the development process, there would be a fight.

"There has to be a cooperative boundary agreement in place between the City of Merrill and Pine River," he said.