By Kim McDarison

Jefferson County Administrator Ben Wehmeier Thursday delivered an hour-long “State of the County” address to an audience of some 95 people who arrived both in person at the UW-Extension building, 864 Collins Rd., Jefferson, and through an online meeting platform.

In advance of the presentation ThriveED Executive Director Deborah Reinbold addressed the audience, drawing attention to several state and local officials who were in attendance. ThriveEd or Thrive Economic Development, is described on its website as a nonprofit public-private organization tasked with creating and promoting “economic competitiveness” while helping businesses navigate the development process.

Making brief remarks before introducing Wehmeier, Reinbold said: “To say that the last year has been a transformative one is an understatement. The county has attracted almost a billion and a half dollars in new investment, tourism is booming, (and) our efforts to address traditional housing for current and future residents has become a model for other communities.”

She told those in attendance that the county administrator would give “a snapshot of a remarkable year of progress and collaboration,” as well as a look at “what’s to come.”

Aided by slides, Wehmeier told those in attendance that county staff, along with its “private-public partners” had achieved several goals over the course of the last year. 

Wehmeier described advancements within the county as “a story” about Jefferson County.

“It’s not just about the county, it’s not just about Thrive. It’s about the public-private partnerships we have,” he said. 

He cited ThriveED as a “public-private economic development partnership,” calling the organization, “pretty young,” noting that he signed its articles of incorporation in July of 2016.

He described the formation of the organization as having “ups and downs,” focusing on activities which, he said, commenced two years ago, when “there was a strategic planning session.

“We looked at the needs and the future of the county, and expanded that mission statement,” he continued, adding that the new mission was about “community development” and “not just economic development.”

Within strategic planning discussions, he said, a focus was placed on housing, which, he noted, “kind of transitioned into our strategic plan as a county as well.”

During his address, he said, he would  “look at where we’ve been,” and “where we are going as a county together.”   

Wehmeier began his presentation by sharing basic statistics about the county’s governmental structure, noting that it, as an organization, has 26 departments, with 672 county- and state-funded positions. The county operates with an annual budget of $105 million, of which 31% is funded through the taxpayer-supported levy.

A map noted Jefferson County’s location as being halfway between Madison and Milwaukee within the Madison-Milwaukee corridor.

He next shared “key themes” of the county’s comprehensive plan, which, he said, were “collaborative and community-driven.”

Key themes included housing, land use, transportation, economic development and intergovernmental cooperation. Graphics on a slide further emphasized “diverse housing options,” “highly regarded quality of life,” “intentional economic growth,” and “transformative government.”

Wehmeier additionally emphasized the city’s motto: “Explore. Thrive. Belong,” repeating the words throughout his presentation.

Tourism in Jefferson County

During his presentation, the county administrator focused on tourism and promotion, offering several statistics.

Citing impacts, among others, from a “Discover Wisconsin and Uniquely Wisconsin” campaign, Wehmeier said there had been an increase in economic impact and visitor spending within the county between 2022 and 2023, noting the following: In 2023, the county enjoyed an economic impact of $207 million, which was an increase of 6.3% over impacts calculated in 2022; in 2023, direct visitor spending, calculated at $122.5 million, was up over spending in 2022 by 6.4%, and in  2023, the county collected state and local taxes of $11.2 million, which was an increase of 1.5% over state and local taxes collected in 2022.

Medical assets

Wehmeier additionally noted accolades received by the medical facilities serving the county, citing among them Fort HealthCare’s Fort Memorial Hospital and the Watertown Regional Medical Center. He cited both facilities as noteworthy within their fields, listing several awards received this year by Fort HealthCare, including the Quality and Patient Safety award from the Wisconsin Hospital Association, and two Top Work Places awards, given by USA Today and the Journal Sentinel. Also in 2024, he said, Watertown Regional Medical Center has been named as among the top 100 rural and community hospitals by Chartis, an industry advisory group, which, according to its website, launched two decades ago “with a mission to improve healthcare,” and recognition from Healthgrades, a search engine, according to its website, used by patients to locate and learn about medical facilities and doctors.

Sharing a slide titled: “Healthy Communities,” Wehmeier said Jefferson County, in 2022, was named by U.S. News and World Report as among the “healthiest communities,” placing it in the top 10% of all counties ranked by the publication. He said Jefferson County ranked as No. 200 among the 3,000 counties surveyed.

Additionally, he said, the county was designated as a “gold” Wisconsin Healthy Community. The designation was received from Wisconsin Healthy Community Designation, which, according to its website, is a program offered by Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health group or MATCH, which is determined by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Population Health Institute.

In 2024, Wehmeier said, Jefferson County was designated as one of the healthiest counties in the U.S., exceeding both national and state averages.

Broadband, infrastructure

Citing broadband expansion as an ongoing challenge, Wehmeier said the county was working on “broadband equity, access, and deployment,” an undertaking discussed within the industry as B.E.A.D.

Among challenges faced by county officials, he said, were those of working through what he described as a challenging process, including understanding the “rules for distribution.”

Wehmeier said there is an “intention” at the state level to create a system to “help distribute federal funds” through a “bipartisan infrastructure law,” further noting that the state is anticipated to receive more than $1 billion in federal funding for the designated purpose. Currently, he said, there is “no money allocated in the state budget for broadband.”

In an effort to increase access to broadband across the county, Wehmeier said county officials are working with such providers as TDS, Brightspeed, Charter, Bug Tussel, and Frontier, among others.

Also as a matter of infrastructure, he said, the county was developing a program to address roads and maintenance, with plans developed in 20-year increments, and the county has undertaken a groundwater study, the findings from which could be available to the public as early as next month.

He additionally talked about improvements underway to enhance the Interurban Trail, which, he said, has been under ongoing development since at least 1975.

Economic development

Wehmeier, recapping the year’s economic development news, shared a slide depicting three of the county’s largest developments in 2024, including improvements to facilities made by Palermo’s Pizza, in the city of Jefferson, the Nestle Purina Petcare factory, also in the city of Jefferson, and the Aztalan Bio facility in Johnson Creek.

Wehmeier, in his presentation, additionally noted a new facility which will be built within the county by Kikkoman.

The county administrator said that the county has identified the food and beverage industry as a good fit for Jefferson County and is looking to attract more operators from within that industry to locate in Jefferson County. To that end, the county has identified 165 acres of land within the city of Jefferson, all of which falls within the city’s Tax Incremental Financing District (TID) No. 11, which it hopes to develop into the “Food and Beverage Innovative Campus.”

In a followup interview, Reinbold said the city approved the formation of the TID this year. While during his presentation, Wehmeier placed on a slide a photo of the land in its virginal state, Kikkoman has since committed to developing 100 acres of the newly established campus.

Reinbold said her organization continues to market the campus with positive results, noting that several companies have responded to a Request for Proposals (RFP).

“So there has been interest, and there has been local outreach,” she said, but, she added: “there is nothing definite at this point.”

Reinbold said that while some companies have been attracted to the city of Jefferson, ThriveED, along with county staff and officials, are dedicated to making advancements throughout the county.

“It just takes time,” she said.

New developments, such as the Kikkoman facility, Wehmeier said, are essential to enhancing the regional “labor basin,” which he described as an area within a 45-minute drive time from Jefferson County. Within the basin, Wehmeier said, there is a population of more than 1.3 million people, of which approximately 702,000 are considered members of the labor force. Further, he said, there are approximately 560 households within the basin.

A goal of the county, he said, is to bring more people into Jefferson County as homeowners. The county has established programs to help, including the Jefferson County At Home initiative, designed to help people prepare for homeownership through counseling and education. Wehmeier said the county’s program is HUD approved.

Jefferson County, along with the state, is experiencing a housing shortage, Wehmeier said. Along with the counseling program, the county has benefited from such initiatives as a recent Habitat for Humanity expansion into the county, and the launch of a “Live Local” development fund.

The initiatives have been supported monetarily by such countywide partners as Fort HealthCare, the Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation, and Ixonia Bank, the administrator said.

He additionally cited a Greater Jefferson County Housing Summit.

Continued collaborations

According to Wehmeier, the county has found support through regional collaborations with such groups as FaBWisconsin, BioForward, MadRep/MMAC or M7, the WEDC, and through leadership, which he described as “participation on panels,” during which time county officials share knowledge with members of other organizations.

Wehmeier said county officials have determined that manufacturers within the food and beverage industry are a good fit for the county.

He cited several companies that find their home in Jefferson County, including Johnsonville, and Jones Dairy Farm, along with the aforementioned companies: Palermo Pizza and Nestle Purina.

Information on a slide noted that the county is home to suppliers for the cited food and beverage companies, through such endeavors as “farms producing high-quality raw ingredients to cold storage solutions.”

The slide concluded: “Greater Jefferson County is the ideal home for food and beverage manufacturers.”

Another slide, titled: “BioForward,” depicted the proximity to Jefferson County of organizations that help develop the workforce. Statewide, the slide listed the WEDC and the UW system. Among Madison-based groups, the slide listed UW-Madison, Madison College, Accuray, Exact Sciences, BioForward,  and MadRep. Among Milwaukee-based groups, the slide listed: Milwaukee Area Technical College, GE HealthCare, Rockwell Automation, BioForward, M7, Employ Milwaukee and WRTP.

Looking at local collaborators, a slide listed, among public-private enterprises, Youth Crisis Stabilization Facility, Healthworks Steering Committee, The Rock River Community Clinic, ThriveED, and broadband. Under a heading of Local Governments, the slide listed GIS position, law enforcement IT, contractual work, and crisis workers.

Telling the county’s story

Returning to a theme of storytelling, Wehmeier said the county has been featured in Site Selection Magazine, with a piece slated for public consumption in September; and will be featured in a series of podcasts created with help from  Discover Wisconsin. The podcasts are slated to be released in October.

He cited several media outlets which have featured Jefferson County stories in their publications, several of which have revolved around the county’s new economic developments, such as Palermo Pizza, Kikkoman, and Nestle Purina, among others.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead, Wehmeier said county officials would continue to create and foster connections with regional partners, with an eye toward maintaining the county’s identity.

Additionally, the county would work to maintain “ecosystem balance.”

County officials would continue to work on identifying and developing fiscal solutions, with plans to work with state officials while they develop a state budget, and through the creation of maps.

Wehmeier said officials would continue to work proactively to seek out investments and meet “other needs” that have been identified within the county.

A goal is to promote the county, he said.

Wehmeier gave a shoutout to a Fort Atkinson-based company, Humphrey Floral LLC, which he said had, on its own, embraced the concept of promoting the county.

On its Facebook page, the company wrote: “It’s Friday and we have some super fun news! With all of the hustle and bustle of Kikkoman coming to Jefferson, we are ecstatic to tell you that we have the honor to do all of the event floral for the groundbreaking event in June.”

Following the presentation, a question-and-answer period was offered. Attendees did not pose questions during the allotted time.

Earlier stories about economic developments in Jefferson County are here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/palermos-pizza-opens-second-production-facility-in-jefferson/, here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/evers-wedc-announce-incentives-to-assist-kikkomans-investment-in-jefferson-walworth/, here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/evers-wedc-say-wisconsin-saw-record-planned-capital-investments-last-year-including-companies-in-jefferson-johnson-creek-milton/ and here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/195-million-nestle-purina-factory-expansion-planned-in-jefferson/.