Superior exposition district bill heads to Wisconsin Legislature

Jun. 14—SUPERIOR — Wisconsin legislators representing Superior are making another push to allow city officials to create a local exposition district to spur economic development.

Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Cameron, and Rep. Angie Sapik, R-Lake Nebagamon, are initiating a new bill to do just that.

The legislation is something community leaders have sought for nearly a decade. In November 2016, 75% of voters favored a referendum showing their support for the initiative developed by Better Cities Superior to spur economic growth in the city.

"Time and again the people of Superior have made the case that Madison needs to give them the tools to succeed," Quinn said. "We are tired of seeing tens of millions of dollars invested in the Twin Ports go mainly to the other side of the bridge. We haven't been giving Superior the resources it needs to compete. There is a lot of untapped potential here, and we need to let one of the north's most important cities do what it can to attract visitors, conventions and large events."

During a visit to Superior in March, Quinn discussed the legislation with local leaders to determine if it would still be helpful for the local economic development efforts.

Mayor Jim Paine wasn't present for the discussion.

Paine said while he had not discussed the matter with Quinn or Sapik, he looked forward to working with them to get the legislation through the process.

"I'm always pleased to see potential revenue sources for the city," Paine said. "I'm really looking forward to them reaching out to my office or me getting the chance to talk to them in Madison about the details of the bill, how much revenue it would actually provide, and what restrictions there would be on that revenue."

Under the bill, the city could choose to create a local exposition district with its own governing board responsible for establishing and operating an exposition center. The center would be used to promote tourism with conventions, expositions, trade shows, musical or dramatic events, or other commercial, cultural or sporting activities.

The district would be able to bond a total of $20.3 million and the district would dissolve once the bonds and other contractual obligations are met. City residents must approve the plan through a new referendum to create the exposition district.

Similar bills have received bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature, but never made it through the process.

"I would argue that since the city started the Better City project almost 10 years ago, we went ahead," Paine said. "Madison never did help us so we went ahead and built a better city on our own. That's not saying we don't have more work to do, but we built ourselves into a pretty great financial condition and have been doing some pretty outstanding economic development without the help of this bill."

Quinn and Sapik are currently seeking co-sponsors for the legislation.

"I am grateful that they are working for us now, but I still have a lot of questions," Paine said.

Sapik acknowledged the work local leaders have done on their own and said the legislation would help continue the work they started.

"This is a time where Superior is exceeding expectations," Sapik said. "From

the new smartphone app

to the tourism campaign,

Gotta Be Superior,

we are putting ourselves on the map. This is a great city and the elected officials in this area are working hard to make it even better. The Expo District is going to be an enormous addition to the betterment of our city, and I believe this time around, we can clear the hurdles."