Wisconsin Dells Convention Hosting Stage II Lake Delton Property Tax Increase

The Village of Lake Delton has given the Kalahari Resort 10 million publicly collected dollars to build a convention center ( 212 thousand square feet) capable of serving large regional - national groups.  The Village of Lake Delton finance committee has authorized the payment of 1.8 million publicly collected dollars for the franchise operator to construct a La Quinta Del Sol Hotel along the Wisconsin Dells Parkway.  The Village of Lake Delton finance committee has authorized 2 payments of 750 thousand publicly collected dollars for the Noah's Ark property owner to build housing for temporary workers.  The Village of Lake Delton has approved a payment of 591 thousand dollars to construct a law enforcement location that will be closer to the large new convention facility.

Recall that in 2016 - 17 the Village of Lake Delton authorized payment for a private tax assessment service that specializes in elevating property taxes across the community.  This activity produced property values that were extremely high for a small rural community like the Village of Lake Delton.  Local property owners explained the need to travel to surrounding communities like Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells, or Baraboo for resources like a public library, high school, or a public swimming pool.  The land values were artificially elevated for the purpose of funding  these top down efforts being called Stage II of the Convention Hosting Industry in the Wisconsin Dells area.

This huge investment from a very small rural community will require an ongoing analysis focused upon the sustainability within the Wisconsin Dells area.  The balance within these growth driven efforts will come from evidence of a commitment to sustainability - helping improve the opportunity for a return on the investment.

Performing the critical tasks of analysis of sustainability is solid evidence of buy in.  Community buy in is a central piece of describing the measures of quality - that will be used to present indications of success.  The Wisconsin Dells area can expect to see sustainability analysis findings being published on an ongoing basis as we move forward in to Stage II of the convention hosting industry.