August 22, 2025, | Vol. 1, Issue 25 (Approx. 1889 words – a nine-minute read)
What’s Ahead? GM/JATCO Planning, CEAP once again in the real world, and the most powerful committee you never heard of Until now!
Hypothetically Speaking: What if Janesville Rebuilt Its Southside Legacy?
August 20, 2025 – Janesville, WI The anticipated City Manager proposal for an Advisory Committee to participate in the planning for the GM/JATCO site is on the agenda Monday night. At stake, the long-term redevelopment of the former GM/JATCO site is not just another planning exercise. It is the opportunity of a generation—250 acres of land that can either remain a symbol of decline or be transformed into a vibrant, modern, and economically productive asset that redefines Janesville’s future.
For nearly 90 years, the GM plant anchored Janesville’s economy. Since its closure in 2009, the site has stood as a reminder of lost jobs and unrealized potential. Now, with the City’s 2025 acquisition of both GM/JATCO parcels and five adjoining tracts, the stage is set for bold, strategic, community-driven redevelopment.
A Citizen-Led Model for Redevelopment
The City Manager has outlined plans for a GM/JATCO Redevelopment Advisory Board to guide the transformation. While the proposal is strong, it should go further by embodying the Citizen Expert Advisory Panel (CEAP) model that Hypothetically Speaking has been championing.
Unlike traditional committees, CEAP blends neighborhood voices with subject-matter expertise, ensuring that redevelopment decisions reflect both lived experience and technical knowledge. The GM/JATCO site—with its complex mix of environmental, economic, and social challenges—demands nothing less.
🔎 ・ What is a Citizen Expert Advisory Panel (CEAP)?
The Citizen Expert Advisory Panel is a new model for public decision-making that blends community representation with subject-matter expertise. Unlike traditional advisory committees—often filled with political appointees or general-interest members—CEAPs are designed to bring lived experience and technical knowledge to the same table.
A CEAP is:
- Citizen-led – Residents and neighborhood voices are at the center.
- Expert-informed – Specialists in environment, housing, economic development, or health bring critical insight.
- Transparent & accountable – Members are screened and recommended through an open vetting process to build trust.
In practice, a CEAP acts as both a sounding board and a problem-solving team—a hybrid of community voice + professional expertise.
➡️ For Janesville, launching the GM/JATCO Redevelopment Advisory Board as a CEAP would not just guide redevelopment. It would set a new civic standard for how big, complex, long-term community decisions get made.
Proposed Adjusted Membership Composition
A reimagined Advisory Board structured under the CEAP model could look like this:
- Three residents from neighborhoods adjacent to the site
- One nonprofit leader who is serving the area.
- One environmental remediation expert (brownfield redevelopment experience)
- One economic development professional (from outside Janesville, to bring regional perspective)
- One south side business representative, one small business owner who lives in the area.
- One at-large Janesville resident with experience in workforce, housing, or planning
- One representative of Public Health Agency (to align with broader strategies)
- One Economic Development representative from the City or County agency.
This lean but diverse mix of residents, experts, and institutional voices creates a citizen-led yet technically informed panel—the heart of what a CEAP represents.
Why This Matters
The redevelopment process is expected to take 18–24 months, beginning with environmental planning and culminating in a Conceptual Redevelopment Framework. The work will address not only jobs and land use but also site remediation, new branding, public engagement, and long-term sustainability.
Getting the composition and appointment process right at the outset is critical. If the Advisory Board functions merely as a symbolic committee, its work risks being ignored. If instead it is built on the CEAP model, it can become a replicable framework for future citizen-led planning across Janesville.
🗂 Sidebar: The Advisory Committee on Appointments (ACA) — Why It Matters
Appointments to city boards and commissions often fly under the radar, yet they quietly shape how Janesville grows, invests, and governs itself. That is where the Advisory Committee on Appointments (ACA) comes in.
The ACA’s role is to:
- Screen and vet applicants for city boards, commissions, and advisory panels.
- Assess qualifications and representation.
- Recommend finalists in a transparent, consistent way.
By serving as a filter between the applicant pool and the appointing authority, the ACA ensures boards are credible, representative, and effective—not stacked with political loyalists or filled casually. Becoming a part of the solution should not be an opportunity reserved for a select few.
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⚖️ Sidebar: Why the City Council President — Not the City Manager — Should Appoint
In Janesville’s council-manager system, the City Manager runs operations while the City Council sets policy and represents the people.
Allowing the Manager to appoint citizen members risks blurring the line between administration and democratic representation.
Keeping appointment authority with the City Council President ensures that:
- Appointments remain accountable to voters, not staff.
- Panels retain independence, avoiding rubber-stamp perceptions.
- Policy direction stays with elected hands, where the public can weigh in.
Together, the ACA vetting process and Council President appointments create citizen advisory bodies that are both credible and accountable.
Timeline at a Glance
- Aug 25, 2025 – City Council considers the resolution establishing the Advisory Board
- Aug 30, 2025 – Councilmembers submit nominations.
- Sept 8, 2025 – Appointments finalized and approved.
- Week of Sept 22, 2025 – Orientation with City staff
- Oct 2025 – RFP drafted for redevelopment consultant.
- Jan 2026 – First public engagement sessions begin.
- Mid-2026 – Draft plan released for feedback.
- Late 2026 – Final plan presented to City Council
Hypothetically Speaking: What If…
What if Janesville used this once-in-a-century redevelopment to pioneer a new standard for citizen engagement—one that blends expertise, representation, and accountability?
Hypothetically speaking, the City Council should:
- Establish the GM/JATCO Advisory Board as a model CEAP, setting precedent for future decision-making.
- Screen applicants through the Advisory Committee on Appointments (ACA) to ensure balance and credibility.
- Empower the City Council President to make final appointments, reinforcing accountability to the people.
👉 If done right, the GM/JATCO Advisory Board will not only rebuild a site but also rebuild trust, participation, and shared vision for Janesville’s future.
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This Week’s Call to Action: Break Down the Barriers
Rock County Communities – August 20, 2025
Ever felt like public service was a closed club? That serving on a board or commission—or even running for City Council, School Board, or County Board—was for “other people”? You are not alone. Many citizens never take the first step because they do not know where to begin.
That is where we come in.
Hypothetically Speaking: What if …
What if there was a way to learn directly from the people already doing the work?
What if you could hear elected officials talk candidly about the highs, lows, and challenges of serving in public office?
You do not have to imagine it. It already exists.
Go to YouTube → Rock County Civics Academy and explore more than 40 in-depth video conversations with elected officials. These are not soundbites or campaign ads. They are honest, real-world profiles and testimonies from people serving on boards, commissions, city councils, school boards, and county boards right now.
It is the best primer you will find on what public service actually looks like, and all.
And if you want to take it further? Reach out to us here at Hypothetically Speaking. We will connect you with community veterans who can answer your questions, share lessons learned, and prove that public service is not a private club.
We are nonpartisan, unbiased, and not affiliated with any political party—ever. Our only agenda is to help more people get informed, get involved, and make the change they dream about.
Because your community does not just need “leaders.” It needs you.
The Taxpayer Corner: The Most Powerful Board You’ve Never Heard Of
Janesville, WI – August 20, 2025, 6:30 p.m. City Hall
The Joint Review Board (JRB) meets quietly, makes big decisions, and then disappears back into obscurity. But do not let its low profile fool you. This five-member board holds the keys to millions of your property tax dollars.
Here is why this week matters:
TID 37, originally created to redevelop the former Menards site, is poised to become a “donor district.” That means its surplus revenues would be siphoned off to fuel downtown redevelopment and the cleanup of the GM corridor.
On the surface, it is smart accounting—using one district’s success to cover another’s shortfalls. But underneath lies a bigger question: when should taxpayers finally see the benefit of all this new development?
Right now, those dollars are locked away.
📦 Sidebar: What Are TIF Districts and Why Do They Matter?
- The Setup: A TIF district freezes the tax base. Governments keep collecting taxes on that frozen value, but all new growth gets captured separately.
- The Increment: The extra revenue (the “increment”) stays in the district, reinvested in roads, utilities, site prep, and incentives.
- The Payoff: Once the costs are covered, the district closes and all the new value flows back to schools, the county, and taxpayers.
- The Catch: Until then, schools, county services, and homeowners wait for that revenue to be returned.
That is why donor arrangements like TID 37 are not just technicalities. They are high-stakes financial choices that shape when the community finally sees the payoff from growth.
Why the JRB Matters
The JRB is not just a rubber stamp for City Hall. It is supposed to be the fiscal gatekeeper—the independent board that decides whether tax dollars stay locked up or flow back to schools, county services, and local taxpayers.
Its members include:
- One representative each from the City of Janesville, Rock County, the School District of Janesville, and Blackhawk Technical College
- Plus, one citizen member
Yet they asked around, and most residents could not name a single member. That anonymity shields it from scrutiny.
But when millions are on the line, silence is not an option.
The JRB should be asking tough questions:
- Can TID 37 really afford to donate without extending its lifespan?
- How much is fair before schools and taxpayers wait too long?
- Does this serve the public—or just the project?
That kind of accountability only happens if representatives are independent, financially literate, and willing to push back when the math does not add up.
📦 Sidebar: Why Membership Matters
The JRB’s choices ripple across decades of local finance. That is why whoever sits at the table matters as much as the decisions themselves.
Members should be:
- Skilled in public finance and redevelopment economics
- Independent enough to challenge staff reports.
- Focused on public interest, not narrow institutional goals.
That is why we recommend the Advisory Committee on Appointments screen candidates—especially the public members, to ensure thoughtful, qualified voices are in the room.
Because the JRB is not ceremonial. It is a watchdog. And with millions of taxpayer dollars at stake, weak oversight is costly oversight.
Hypothetically Speaking: What if …
What if the Joint Review Board stopped being obscure and started being a true forum for public accountability?
What if its members demanded proof before locking up tax dollars for another decade?
What if citizens filled the gallery at City Hall—not just once, but every time—reminding the JRB that it serves us?
The next JRB meeting is not just another agenda item. It is a test of transparency, accountability, and civic will.
📅 Mark the Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2025, 2:00 p.m. – Janesville City Hall.
Be there. Watch. Speak up.
Because the most powerful board you have ever heard of should not stay in the shadows.
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☕ Community Spotlight: Havana Coffee
Fueling Dialogue, One Cup at a Time
Looking for a space to connect and reflect? Visit Havana Coffee at 1250 Milton Avenue true Janesville gem where civic energy meets excellent espresso. With hearty food, warm service, and a strong commitment to local journalism, Havana Coffee proudly supports the Rock County Civics Academy and all who believe in informed engagement.
Welcome our newest sponsor, Nowlan Law Firm and Attorney Tim Lindau. Thank you for sharing our vision for the future with your support today.
We deeply appreciate the support and encouragement from Tim at Nowlan, Daniela at Havana and many others who ask with us:
💭 Hypothetically Speaking…
- What if transparency was standard in local government?
- What if civic engagement became Rock County’s defining strength?
That is the mission of Hypothetically Speaking. And with your voice in the mix, it is closer to reality than ever.
💬 A Call to Leadership
Every advancement in our community begins with someone choosing to act. If you have asked yourself when the right time to get involved is—the answer might just be now.
Ways to contribute:
• Volunteer with a civic group
• Apply to serve on a local board or commission
• Run for public office and lead the change.
“If not me, who? If not now, when? — Hillel the Elder
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Until next time—stay curious, stay engaged, and stay connected.
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