Mayor's Community Update - 06/18/2018

Greetings!  The City of Waupun set out more than a year ago to develop a strategic economic development plan focusing on economic diversification and using a strength-based approach to identify target industries that are strong fits for our community. One of those industry segments is value-added agriculture processing. 

Last week, we announced that Waupun has been selected as the site for the state’s first soybean processing facility. This project is a strong strategic fit with our economic development plan and could be a catalyst to create additional growth as businesses that would supply the facility look to expand or relocate in our area.

While this is very exciting and appears to be a positive opportunity to create jobs and generate positive economic development in Waupun, we are working to fully evaluate the project to ensure it truly serves our community’s best interests. We’re working closely with Envision Greater Fond du Lac, as well as conducting our own very thorough review.

The first major milestone for this project is review of an air permit that has been filed with the Wisconsin DNR. The DNR has scheduled a public meeting for Thursday, June 28 and public comment will be received on the permit through July 11.  

Before the DNR meeting, we will hold two community conversations – at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 27, at Waupun City Hall. If you have questions you want to be sure are thoroughly vetted during the process, I encourage you to attend or to reach out to me via phone or email. This is an opportunity to talk about the information we have, the things we’re doing to evaluate and advance the project, and make certain we’re providing you with the information needed to better understand the project.  

Once the air permit is finalized, there are additional milestones that must be achieved to move a project forward, and there will be room for additional public comment throughout the process. Additionally, we will be developing an online information tool to provide answers to frequently asked questions and share more information about the process so that you can stay informed. We expect that tool to be available by the conclusion of the air permit process this fall.

See you around town! ~ Mayor Julie Nickel