“Farms!, Farms!, Farms!” advertisements by the Northwestern Lumber Company announced in the early twentieth century as the cut-over districts bereft of trees gave way to local agricultural settlements. “Drought, while not impossible, is improbable,” the advertisements stated, basing this claim on the grounds that the silt loam soils in the area helped retain moisture, leading in time and care to prosperity. Land in those days was reportedly cheap as well, being listed at $9 an acre in the local Centennial book “Stanley: Our Town.” An inflation calculator tied to the Consumer Price Index charts $9 in 1900 as being roughly equivalent to $276 in 2020. Advertising in Poland and elsewhere, private immigration companies helped fill the Stanley Country with immigrants from across the sea, considering themselves fortunate after having been deprived of land ownership in their native homelands, this last part also per the Centennial book. Farming once a major area occupation, the number of people engaged in agriculture began to decline with the passage of time as new technology and increased efficiencies (but also market pressures) roiled the market in the late twentieth century, So much for past settlement, what of the present day? Enter the Comprehensive Plan for Stanley, prepared by the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (WCWRPC). Section seven sets forth economic development benchmark needs in the present and future.

“When looking at the local economy, it has been determined that three things are paramount,” the Plan reads. “First, innovation, knowledge, and public, private, and educational partnerships are critical keys to the growth of existing businesses, and the creation of jobs and wealth.” Also important to local financial prosperity as per the Plan are “purchasing items from local businesses, the redistribution of local money in the local economy.” Last but not least, “in a global economy…to be successful, the City needs to give special attention to what they can provide best to its citizens,” or in other words, specialize and show yourself unique, thereby generating both local and regional growth. So how might things stand at present for the Stanley Country in terms of this picture and what still needs to be done? First the strengths.

Among the things that Stanley has going for it are its location along four-lane Highway 29, revolving loan programs available through the Regional Business Fund, Inc., Chippewa and Clark County Economic Development Companies (EDC), large amounts of available land for development along the east and west sides of the City, along with some “infill” opportunities, a quality school district, and rail service for industrial and commercial industries which might consider locating to the area. Also listed among the strengths at present are a strong core of downtown businesses which many communities do not have, including Flowers on Broadway and Classic Cars. In like manner, unspecified infill opportunities in the downtown area are mentioned, together with Chapman Lake and Park, the local historical society and museum, and the opportunity to build on momentum from Kwik Trip for use as an anchor. So what of the weaknesses?

In the first place, Stanley’s downtown is reported to be struggling, with Main Street businesses that have poor front optics and vacancies. The sentiment is expressed for a restaurant needed in town, along with a reported lack of consistent workforce, difficulty attracting new businesses, older housing stock, and “very limited opportunities in the City for new office – most office and business spaces are full.

As a partial fix to the last stated city ‘weakness,’ the soon coming potential for leased space was opened alongside the creation of the draft plan with the recent purchase of the old Don Smith’s building at Fourth Avenue and Broadway by Sytech Enterprises, with more information available to those driving by on the window display.

Acknowledging in the meantime the “greatly impacted” economic fallout of COVID-19 on local, regional, state, and national levels, the Plan states that the impact of this “will continue to be realized, and the full effect will take time to quantify.”

Regarding the downtown more specifically, the Plan calls for attracting a “unique retail anchor” that can draw large numbers of tourist and residents to the downtown area. While the Stanley Theater does this to a certain degree, it has limited hours, and other examples given in the Plan from the area are The Wood Shed with Amish goods in Augusta along with Norske Nook restaurant in Osseo. In place of an established anchor business, the Plan for economic revitalization calls for locally themed attractions such as the Trollway in Mount Horeb, or regular Farmers Markets. A TID (Tax Incremental District) created in September 2001 for the West Industrial Park originally had a maximum life of 2024, but was later extended to sunset (end) in 2034. Until the current TID sunsets, the City is not able to create another one under the 12 percent equalized value test in state law, the Plan states.

At the same time, the City of Stanley’s ownership of large tracts of prime development land along Highway 29 puts it in a potentially strong position for future development, provided that strong marketing and organization efforts make it “development ready” through removing unknowns to potential developers looking for a site to call home. The East Business Park in Clark County is foreseen to include a mix of commercial uses, with Courtesy Ford in the process of converting the old Shopko building. In order to be competitive for other developers, bigger is better, with sites of 200 acres or more considered a competitive advantage for the region. Desirable land uses in the East Business Park include a restaurant, lumberyard, or Shopko type retailer, while the only undesirable use was “a biodegradable facility that would make ethanol from leftover animal parts.” Additionally, the city does not want noxious odors. With large portions of city land undeveloped in an aerial view of city-owned lands, the opportunities are many for those seeking to advance their own prosperity and that of the region-and that brings us to Comprehensive Plan implementation. Just how to make it a reality? Review, Review, review!

The City of Stanley Plan Commission is charged with promoting comprehensive planning in the city, long with hearings, preparation and recommendation to the Council of ordinances to help implement the Plan, holding hearing and making administrative determinations “if delegated by ordinance,” and review of referred proposals for recommendation to the City Council. Also within the limits of broader Plan Commission review duties are the location of any statue or memorial, location and architectural design of any public buildings, the location, extension, abandonment or authorization for any public utility, the location, alteration, abandonment, sale, acquisition, or lease of land for parks streets, airports, parking or other public grounds, and finally, “all subdivision plats for which the City has jurisdiction,” among various other duties. “Changing with the times,” and adapting when and where necessary. Such is the blueprint for long-term economic success in the Stanley Country.