BAY CITY – Bringing Dollar General to Bay City is one step closer to reality after the Bay City Village Board meeting Wednesday, April 28.

The board voted to change zoning for W6324 State Highway 35 to business (B-2) from residential (R-2). Board members agreed the store coming to town would be a good thing for residents.

“If we do not do so, we’re in essence saying we’re not interested in expansion,” Trustee Norm Baker said.

“And we are interested,” confirmed Village President Roger Spindler.

The proposed store would be located on the third lot east of the Old Stuff store on Highway 35. It would be roughly 9,100 square feet. Dollar Generals often choose locations in smaller communities on a major or main thoroughfare.

“We get a lot of tourist traffic and local traffic,” Village Clerk/Treasurer Kim Lunda said.

A proposed project completion date has not been solidified yet, but that isn’t stifling the excitement about the store.

“I think it’s only fair to the citizens of Bay City that they have something like this here,” Baker said.

Lunda said she’s heard a couple of people speak against it, because they don’t want it to hurt Handy Mart. However, the majority of feedback she has received has been positive.

In an email to The Journal after the meeting, Lunda said Dollar General would offer things Handy Mart doesn’t, like more grocery items, home goods, detergent, etc. Handy Mart would still have an important place in the village.

“I think the people of Bay City deserve to have the option,” Lunda said. “I especially think that it will help those on a limited budget and most of Bay City residents are considered low income.”

It will increase the village tax base, provide a few job opportunities, and allow residents another shopping option, Spindler said.

A woman in the audience said she misses having a store in town where she can buy things like cards and gifts.

“We are very excited for this to come to Bay City,” Lunda said. “I have talked to many residents about it and most everyone is happy that it’s coming! One resident said it can’t come soon enough!”

Dollar General

J.L Turner and Cal Turner Sr. opened J.L. Turner and Son Wholesale in Scottsville, Ky. in 1939. It was a wholesale dry-goods business that served retailers who had survived the Great Depression. In 1945, the pair began serving customers at what they termed “junior department stores.”

Turner’s Department Store in Springfield, Ky., converted into the first Dollar General in 1955. No item sold in the store was more than $1. Soon, Dollar General stores were opening all across southern Kentucky.

By 2021, Dollar General has more than 17,000 stores in 46 states selling food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares, seasonal items, paper products and more. As of March 2020, 192 stores operated in Wisconsin. The corporate headquarters is located in Tennessee.

Site planning

The proposed site would receive about 44,000 yards of fill to bring it up to the level of Highway 35, Spindler said. The Plan Commission discussed details at its April 27 meeting, but forwarded the decision to the village board.

As for water, the proposed site is too far from the waterworks and there is no village service to the proposed location; it would be cost prohibitive to hook the store up to village water. It would need to have its own well.

“Even if they provided a lift station, the village cost would be at a minimum more than $30,000,” Spindler said.

Baker reported the store, using the Plum City Dollar General as an example, uses about 455 gallons of water per day.

The store would need to have its own septic system as well.

“We were quoted a price of $60,000 to put in the sewer and that did not include the tearing up of two driveways, and having to repair those and the cost of the water lines being brought in as well,” Lunda said in an email. “We are also required to jet out our sewers every year and that would be an additional expense to have to deal with that line. The property that is to the east of this lot has the same system that Dollar General will have and they have a daycare at that location.”

Lunda added that Dollar General would not have the same water or sewage usage as the daycare.

“They have completed testing that the county requires and the county said they are good to go with the mound-type system they are planning,” Lunda said.

Jim Lundberg of Point of Beginning, a Stevens Point-based engineering firm, appeared via Zoom on behalf of Dollar General. He confirmed Dollar General has a history of not being interested in sites that would require a holding tank, as far as a sewer system goes. A mound system would be preferred, he said.

Other business

•The board voted to vacate Tank Street and Maple Street on the north side of Highway 35 only, subject to the purchase of land by Dollar General.

•The board approved the adjustment of the front yard definition at W6306 Elsa Ave. for Janelle and Zane Braund.

•The board voted to replace the sidewalk from the Post Office to Tank Street this season.

•The board chatted about possibly adding a basketball court to Village Park. The board believes it would be a benefit to not only local families, but visiting children who use the park. No action was taken.