Sterling bank to relocate in Lacrosse, store remodel moving ahead

A revival is taking place in LaCrosse with the town’s Main Street getting back in business thanks to a heaping helping of community support.

LaCrosse Community Pride, which formed in 2010 with the goal of bringing back a grocery store to the town, also spearheaded efforts to woo a bank back to town while the remodeling of the store moves toward completion.

“It’s been a long road, but it’s all starting to come together,” said Gary Wargo, superintendent of LaCrosse Schools and president of LaCrosse Community Pride.

Groceries and finances have required LaCrosse residents to travel to Colfax or other towns to do business.

LaCrosse Market closed down in February 2009 when owner Jerry Chastain could no longer afford to pay utility bills. Bank of Whitman’s FDIC closure last August left the town without a financial institution.

That changed Tuesday when Sterling Bank announced it will set up a full-service branch in the former Bank of Whitman building.

“Our thanks go out to Sterling Bank for making a commitment to our community by establishing a branch bank in LaCrosse,” the group said in a press release issued Tuesday.

Wargo said the Community Pride group has been working for the past several months to bring in a bank.

“It’s something that’s really been hard for our business community and for the school,” said Wargo, noting the difficulty in cashing payroll checks and even making change for a bag of Skittles at a high school basketball game because Bank of Whitman was shuttered.

“Where do you get your change? You run out of quarters, you run out of dollar bills, what do you do?” he asked.

Sterling will enter into a long-term lease with LaCrosse Community Pride. McGregor Company purchased the bank building out of receivership from the Federal Deposit Insurance Company. Community pride intends to reimburse McGregor with lease payments from Sterling.

The eleven-member pride board said it was important that the building have local ownership so the community can be confident the bank will be there for a long time.

More than 300 residents signed a statement that they would support a bank in LaCrosse as part of the efforts to woo Sterling. Several local companies, too, threw their support behind the bank. Wargo said local businesses have even offered to repair the damaged roof on the bank building.

Meanwhile, across the street, progress on the store is evidenced by a new front of window panes installed earlier this month.

“I think the windows really help people see things are coming together,” said Lois Startin of Startin’s Repair.

The new windows drew in a couple of spectators on Main Street last week.

“Against all odds, it sure looks like this is going to get done,” said Harmon Smith, a farmer and ranking official with the county Republican Party. “This is going to be a great thing for LaCrosse and the entire surrounding area.”

Mayor Larry “Butch” Burgess said LaCrosse Community Pride has generated a new sense of community for the town which saw its population fall about 100 people below the town’s welcome sign count in the 2010 census.

“It’s really been great for the town,” said Burgess. “Everybody’s picked up a little piece of this and you can feel a whole lot of support from the community.”

Burgess praised local businesses like the Pastime Tavern and Startin’s for carrying basic staples like milk, bread and toilet paper after the market closed down, but said the town was hurt by the closure.

Smith noted the tenacity of LaCrosse Community Pride members. He particularly noted the efforts of then late Jerry Townsend, one of the founders and driving forces behind the group. Mr. Townsend died in February at the age of 59 from injuries sustained in an October ATV accident.

“I know he’s looking at these windows right now,” said Smith. “He’ll be watching this whole thing as it comes together.”

The windows were provided at cost by Jim Broadlick, a Seattle contractor who took an interest in the store project after finding out about it on a hunting trip last fall.

“We were having breakfast at the cafe and heard the story about the store, and I decided whatever I could do to help, I would do,” said Broadlick.

He got the windows from a supplier and came over to install them, charging Community Pride only the cost of materials.

“Those kinds of things,” said Wargo. “All of those little volunteer efforts really have helped to keep our costs down.”

Broadlick’s son Will was on the same hunting trip. In February, Will and 15 of his fraternity brothers from WSU helped clean out the basement of the market building. Sigma Phi Epsilon plans to return later to help paint the interior walls and put up shelving.

“Something so simple,” said Startin. “They just happened to be hunting and saw the building and heard our story and decided they needed to help out.”

Wargo said sheet rock will go up at the market in the next two to three weeks.

The goal is to have the new store building open for the annual Farmers Fest in June.

In addition to the grocery, the market building will house the town’s branch library and business offices, including a chiropractor who has committed to work at LaCrosse when the project is complete.