Council committee refers demolition application for Kwik Trip house to full city council meeting

A deferred decision on whether to allow Kwik Trip to tear down a house it owns on Losey Boulevard in La Crosse.

A city council committee Tuesday night made no decision on the application for the demolition permit at 1003 Losey Boulevard, instead giving Kwik Trip the chance to explain what it wants to do with the property over the long term.

But one city council member doesn’t like how Kwik Trip has handled the process, suggesting the property will be left to rot if it doesn’t get the demo permit.

“That sort of negotiation is something that I find inappropriate as a tactic in attempting to get your way with the council,” Jessica Olson, on the committee, said. “I feel that that insults the intelligence of our council members.”

Olson says she’s heard enough and had enough of Kwik Trip’s heavy-handed tactics.

“Doesn’t sound like it’s a scenario where it’s a property owner who can’t afford to maintain the property,” Olson said at the meeting. “They’re certainly financially able to maintain it and make use out of it.

And, just on principle, I don’t want to set a precedent that someone can come in here and bully their way to get an application approved.”

The full city council is poised to weigh in on the demolition application next week.

Kwik Trip has owned the property next to its Losey store for years. It’s been vacant for the last year.

So far, the company has said only it plans to create a grass area with picnic tables at which employees can take breaks.