Brief Info About Storm Water Management 

I’ve recently heard concerns regarding stormwater management regulations on property owners. There is a common belief that owners cannot improve their property without having to comply with modern stormwater regulations, requiring the owner to pay for costly stormwater infrastructure. This concern prevents owners from investing in their properties, and suppresses economic growth within our District.

With that in mind, I recently met with the City’s Department of Public Works to learn about stormwater management requirements, and to identify ways the Military Avenue BID may play a role in facilitating new investments in our properties and stormwater infrastructure. Here is what I learned:

• Stormwater management requirements are established by the Wisconsin DNR, and enforced by the City as required by State Law. 
• To develop previously undisturbed land, developers are required to install facilitates that capture and treat stormwater to reduce flooding and water pollution.
• Because Military Avenue properties primarily developed in the 1960s and 1970s, most properties do not meet current standards for stormwater management.
• Military Avenue properties do not need to comply with current stormwater requirements unless they disturb one half-acre of soil through redevelopment.
• Remodeling your existing building will not trigger compliance with current regulations.
• You cannot piecemeal a bigger redevelopment project into several small projects to skirt the rules, as they will review recently approved development permits.

The City is and the Military Avenue BID want to be a resource and partner to property owners interested in addressing stormwater. There are several best management practices for stormwater management, some of which are fairly easy and affordable. Please check out these links below for more information and contact me if you’re interested in working together on a project.

• https://campus.uwplatt.edu/facilities/stormwater-best-management-practices
• https://greenbaywi.gov/802/Stormwater-Management

I hope that this takes some of the uncertainty out of considering development in Military Avenue. Addressing flooding and water pollution, especially in the Green Bay area, is important and much more is known about what to do and how to do it today than when we were first constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you in any way.

The new Tax Reform Laws will change how your business does it taxes for 2018 and how you and your employees track and claim your expenses.

After attending a morning seminar hosted by our auditor, Schenck, I wanted to outline a few business takeaways I think will affect you most today. As complicated and unclear as the changes are, this may be a year for you to seek advice from the professionals. By the way… We have a few tax prep places right here on Military Avenue.

*Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the deductions for meals and entertainment is pretty much gone. This pocket guide from Schenck outlines the few exceptions that are still deductible. Schenck’s Travel and Entertainment Deductions Pocket Guide You can also see their website at Schenck.com for more info.

The corporate tax rate is down to 21% from 37%. Good news for you! There is a difference between the benefits for C corporations vs S corporations but I cannot begin to explain it. IRA distribution direct to charity is allowed for those 70.5 or older and e-filing for all businesses has been made easier.

On the individual side, a person will no longer be able to accept or claim moving expenses without including it as income, except for active duty military personnel. No alimony deduction can be claimed either. Other provisions in education costs for 529 plans were expanded as well as doubling the allowed estate and gift tax.

In each scenario that Schenck presented, people and businesses would reduce their taxes except in the case of an individual owning lots of property since the property tax deduction is cut. (This would be an uncommon case.) Because the overall tax brackets changed and the standard deduction doubled, individuals will most likely not itemize their deductions at all and still benefit from taking the increased standard deduction.

That said, most all of these changes are set to change again, or expire and go back to where we were in 2017 in a few years. Stay tuned. The State of Wisconsin taxes will outline changes soon, due to the federal changes.

I don’t claim to be any expert and that is my take on the tax situation. Leah Weycker, Executive Director of Military Avenue, Inc.

We have seen a lot of people asking for money or trying to sell something in the parking lot. Does this bother you?

It is not illegal to panhandle but you can control what happens on your property.

The Green Bay Police Department is working with us to enforce the trespass of people you don’t want on your property. By posting a “no loitering” sign, people can be cited for refusal to leave your property. Here is a copy of the City’s Loitering Ordinance

For more information or to talk with the GBPD, call 920.448.3333.