May 26 County Board Meeting Update..

Dear Friends,

Here is your monthly update on your County Board Meeting, this Tuesday May 26th at 9am. These meetings are held in the County Board Room, 1st Floor of our Government Center, 421 Nebraska Street, Sturgeon Bay. Also, please read below about how to continue receiving these updates.

- CENSUS COMMITTEE: If the County Board agrees, County Administrator Mike Serpe and County Clerk Jill Lau will appoint members to the Complete Count Committee and appropriate subcommittees. As you know, the Census is done every 10 years and this year is important because our district lines for local offices as well as State and Federal offices could change based on these counts.
- GRANTS: $814,270 of good news! First, the UW-Extension office will administer a grant of $8,655 for implementing risk management education for vineyard operators. The Information Systems Committee will oversee a grant of $4,608 for software maintenance and training for the Wisconsin Land Information Program. And, the Soil and Water Conservation Department will oversee 2 grants – one for $2,000 to support the Dunes Lake Watershed Study and another Targeted Runoff Management Program Grant for $799,007!
- CANA ISLAND: Our Board will consider a plan to purchase $1.3 million of property adjacent to Cana Island. The purchase is contingent on the County receiving grants and donations to cover most of the purchase cost. The closing date for this property shall be before Dec. 31, 2010.
- ZONING FEES: Some Zoning Application fees will be increased to off-set the cost of administering these changes. Structure fees start at $75 for a structure footprint of 120 sq. ft. or less to $600 for structure footprints over 5,000 sq. ft.
- BAY-LAKE REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: The County is considering quitting this board as it has proven to be worth less than the $34,770 per year. If passed, these funds could be put to better use elsewhere while the Bay-Lake Commission will still continue its important work.
- GOVT. CENTER ROOF: The Government Center roof is worn and needs replacement. Initially, this project was to be done over several years. We had budgeted $72,000 for this year’s portion. Now it is recommended to do all 7 sections at once with a total cost of $115,000 - $43,000 of which is not in this year’s budget. However, cost and energy savings (adding insulation) gained by completing the entire project now justifies the budget amendment.
- 2008 ANNUAL REPORT: For those of you who wonder, “What does the County do?” – please read the soon-to-be-released 2008 Annual Report. Inside you’ll find 96 pages of condensed information on all of our County Departments and operations. Check co.door.wi.gov/ soon for a link to this report.

- LEGISLATIVE DAYS: Our Door County Legislative Days were held this May 12 – 13th. This year 105 delegates from Door AND Kewaunee Counties ventured to our State Capitol to lobby our elected and appointed officials and their staffs on some of our key issues such as Protecting our Ground Water and Education. Of course, our State Government is experiencing serious budget difficulties, Door and Kewaunee Counties lobbied honestly for changes that can benefit us as well as the rest of our State.

- NEXT UPDATE: If you’d like to continue receiving these updates via email, please reply to this message. Otherwise, from now on, this same information will be available at bendmeyer.blogspot.com. There, you can post your questions and read other’s questions and responses.

Thanks! Look forward to you questions, ideas, and concerns.

Ben Meyer – District VII