Joe’s Platform for Argyle

1. A Capital Plan Argyle Can Count On

Argyle’s infrastructure — roads, vehicles, utilities — has been funded reactively. When something breaks or wears out, we scramble. That’s not a plan, it’s a cycle, and it keeps us from getting ahead.

I’m committing to a formal Capital Improvement Plan: a rolling, multi-year schedule of infrastructure investments backed by a predictable, sustainable borrowing structure. We have significant capacity to borrow responsibly — we’re nowhere near our debt limit — and the goal isn’t to take on debt for its own sake. The goal is a repeatable rhythm: borrow at a manageable level, invest in roads and equipment on a defined schedule, pay it down, repeat. Communities that plan this way stop being surprised by costs and start being prepared for them.

Our Tax Increment District has already proven what intentional investment looks like. WEDC Community Development Investment Grants have helped bring two landmark downtown buildings back to life: the former auto dealership is now Flex Fitness, a gym with apartments above; the former LA Rossing building is now The Legacy of Argyle, with offices, apartments, and an event center that’s become a hub of downtown activity. That’s state investment matched by private dollars creating real results in buildings that sat vacant for years. We need to extend that model — facade grants, storefront improvements, and smaller-scale investments that keep momentum going without waiting for a major project to materialize.

2. More Homes in Argyle

Argyle has a housing problem: we don’t have enough of it. There is essentially no residential inventory, and that limits everything — who can move here, who can afford to stay, whether young families and workers can choose Argyle at all.

We’re going to fix that on multiple fronts. There is agricultural land within the village’s existing boundaries where owners have expressed interest in developing. There are also adjacent parcels where annexation — with willing sellers — could open new capacity. Neither happens without the right financial tools and economics for developers to make projects pencil out.

Wisconsin’s 2025 legislative session created new Residential Tax Increment District authority purpose-built for housing development — with a dedicated equalized value cap separate from our existing TID and flexibility for housing-related costs. This is new law, and few municipalities have moved on it yet. Argyle will. The goal isn’t just more units — it’s the right mix: starter homes, workforce housing, and options that let people live here at every stage of life.

3. A Code That’s Clear, Fair, and Enforced

Our municipal code has accumulated decades of additions, revisions, and inconsistencies. Some of it is hard to find. Some of it is unclear. And some of it we’ve simply stopped enforcing without ever making a deliberate decision to do so.

The good news: Argyle’s code is already online and searchable at eCode360 — anyone can look up the rules right now. What’s missing is the audit and the discipline to act on what we find.

The approach: audit first — a systematic review to identify what’s current, outdated, or internally inconsistent. Then decide and act: for every provision we aren’t enforcing, we either enforce it, fix it, or repeal it. Selective non-enforcement isn’t a policy — it creates confusion and erodes trust.

4. Argyle as a Place to Be

I want Argyle to be a place people choose — not just because they grew up here, but because it’s genuinely a great place to live, work, and spend time.

• Downtown with a personality. Argyle’s downtown has good bones. The Legacy’s event center and Flex Fitness anchor both ends of the block. We need a consistent identity — streetscape, signage, facade improvements that give the whole district a reason to show up for.
• Amenities that signal pride. The new library and community center coming online this fall is a major investment in our future. New playground equipment at the park, a fresh coat of paint on the plane — these are visible signals that Argyle takes care of what it has. We’ll keep building on that.
• Business recruitment. We need to actively recruit businesses that fit Argyle — and make the path to opening here as frictionless as possible. Responsive permitting, a clear code, and a village government that says yes when it can.
• Broadband. BEAD funding is on track to bring fiber to Argyle in 2027. When it arrives, we become a real option for remote workers, small businesses, and anyone who assumed a rural address meant slow internet. We need to be ready to market that.

Questions about any of these priorities?

Joe wants to hear from you. Your concerns shape this work.

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