What do you want to see in Glenwood City? GC Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast to be held June 22

By LeAnn R. Ralph

GLENWOOD CITY  —  The Glenwood City Area Chamber of Commerce wants to know what you would like to see in Glenwood City.

To find out what business owners and area residents think, the Chamber has scheduled an economic development breakfast on June 22 at Glenhaven’s Grand Oaks.

Glenwood City has some empty buildings on Main Street, and the question is how to get the business community and the industrial park to grow, said Chamber president Joan Bartz.

“We’re taking a look at this to see how we can make that happen,” she said.

Bartz said she has been meeting with county-wide Chambers of Commerce to find out how they have been approaching the issue of economic development.

At the last meeting of the Chamber’s executive committee, members of the committee decided that a brainstorming session might be helpful, Bartz said.

In the past, the Glenwood City Area Chamber of Commerce has met twice with Bill Ruben from the St. Croix County Economic Development Corporation.

“We got ideas, but we never went any farther with it,” Bartz said.

Three main issues stand out to Bartz: what do we want in Glenwood City?; how can we market Glenwood City?; and how can we make it appealing financially for businesses to move to Glenwood City?

By “financially appealing,” Bartz said she does not mean that the Glenwood City Council should put up all of the money to attract a business to Glenwood City, but rather, what resources can be identified to help a business move to Glenwood City and how can those businesses be connected to the community and be successful once they are in Glenwood City.

Glenwood City still has a viable downtown area, Bartz said.

“We are so lucky to have we have,” she said.

But perhaps other business owners or residents in Glenwood City would like to see more retail options downtown, such as antique or variety stores, Bartz said.

With more retail options, for example, people could visit Glenwood City and make a day out of going shopping and going out for lunch.

“We are hoping for good participation from the business community and the residents,” Bartz said.

“We want to find out what they would like to see, what they would be willing to support to help (the business) be successful,” she said.

Glenwood City is fortunate to have businesses like a hardware store and a grocery store, but those kinds of businesses will not survive unless local residents are willing to shop at those stores instead of driving elsewhere to find what they want or need, Bartz said.

Those who come to the Glenwood City Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast will be asked to consider several questions:

• What do we want our business district to look like?

• What buildings and spaces are available?

• How do we market our town to engage businesses to come to the Glenwood City area?

• What funding sources are available to help?

In addition to Ruben from St. Croix Co. EDC, Tim Weber and Marie Steenlage from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and Levi Wagner, the loan officer from the Regional Business Fund out of Eau Claire, will be at the breakfast to help with the discussion.

The Glenwood City Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development breakfast on Wednesday, June 22, will be held from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Glenhaven’s Grand Oaks front lobby.

If you are planning to attend the breakfast, please R.S.V.P. to Joan Bartz at 715-265-4453 or by e-mail at Joan.Bartz@Thrivent.com.