Cadott Village Board; A&W restaurant on the way for Cadott

Dee Wells shared her plans for bringing an A&W Restaurant to Cadott, at 609 Crestwood Drive, during a regular meeting May 2, and was on hand to answer questions from the public and the board. A Conditional Use Permit was approved for Wells later in the meeting. Photo by Julia Wolf

By Julia Wolf

An A& W Restaurant is one step closer to setting up shop in Cadott, after a Conditional Use Permit for Dee Wells was approved during a regular Cadott Village Board meeting May 2.

During a public hearing on the permit, Wells gave a brief overview of her plans for the lot at 609 Crestwood Drive, just south of the Citizen’s State Bank drive-up.

Wells says she owns the A& Ws in Withee and Spencer, and is ready to expand some more.

“Cadott is close enough to where I live, I live in Withee, that I can run it,” said Wells. “I’m hands-on.”

She says she would like to remove some trees from the lot to make a doggy park and add some picnic tables. She says she thinks it would be convenient for those traveling with campers or trailers, since the lot is a nice size to have a good way in and out.

Wells says they have not decided on driveway layout, but traffic would go in and out on Crestwood Drive.

She says many of the trees between the lot and State Hwy. 29 are not on her lot, so they would stay. Board member Randy Kuehni asked if she considered a fence to act as a sound barrier.

“If I can get any visual from 29, it’s going to help,” said Wells.

She says she will employ between 25 and 40 people, with more over summer.

Members of the public present asked if there is another way traffic can come off State Hwy. 27, without turning onto South Main Street, then Crestwood Drive. Brian Chapman, Cedar Corp., says he doubts the DOT will let a driveway go between the village street and the State Hwy. 29 entrance ramp.

Mary Scheidler, Village Scoop owner, asked Wells if she looked into other businesses already in Cadott, as Village Scoop sells similar foods to A& W.

Dennis Roth, neighbor to the proposed location, says he and his wife, Deb, are not in favor of the Conditional Use Permit.

“As established property owners and residents on this dead end street, our privacy, and this includes safety, is going to be greatly diminished, or that’s how we’re feeling,” said Roth.

He also says those driving in and out of the business would have full view of his residence, as well as his next door neighbor’s residence, daily. Roth also questioned what the impact on property values would be, as traffic is considered while buying and selling homes.

Roth also says they appreciate the trees that help block the noise of the two highways.

“If that diminishes, we’re going to hear more noise from 29,” said Roth.

Roth also says there is a hill on South Main Street that can create a blind spot.

“Visitors don’t know about that and is that going to cause trouble?” asked Roth.

Other members of the public agreed fewer trees would likely mean more noise, and wondered how an A& W would impact the business of the Village Scoop.

Wells says she believes more people in town helps everybody.

“My thought is, if there is something built up there, you know there will be some safety measures looked into,” said Anson Albarado, board president, of concerns over road safety.

Eric Weiland, board member, said they could always approve road signage at a later date.

Following the public hearing, board members made their decision on the matter.

Kuehni says he likes the idea of businesses being inter- ested in Cadott, and thinks locals, especially, will continue to support other businesses in town. Board member Bart Chapek said his thoughts would be different if it were a residential lot, but it has been a business lot for a long time.

“It’s a business lot,” said Chapek. “We need more tax base. Hopefully, we can work around the other problems.”

Les Liptak, board member, says he is pro-business, but the location of the proposed restaurant to the two neighboring residential properties gives him pause.

“The traffic flow there would be significantly different than the traffic flow that’s with the bank,” said Liptak, as the hours of the restaurant would be longer than the bank’s, and more days per week.

Liptak says he would like to see a traffic impact survey. Wells says her other locations have about 250-300 transactions, per day, which comes to about that many vehicles, per day, as well.

Board members voted to approve the Conditional Use Permit with five in favor (Weiland, Albarado, Chapek, Kuehni, Terry Licht) and one opposed (Liptak).

Members also approved a fireworks permit for Whispering Pines Golf for May 27-30. The event is planned for Friday, May 27, but the additional dates are in case of rain.

The board also approved a resolution, providing a guarantee of village match funds for the Community Development Block Grant Public Facilities (CDBG-PF).

Lynn McIntyre, Cedar Corp., says the village’s match would be $1.5 million, for a $2.5 million project.

“It’s kind of just showing that you have the ability to get those funds,” said McIntyre.

Following a closed session, board members voted to offer the police chief position to Daryl Pries, who accepted the offer, with plans to start in the position Thursday, May 5.