#27: Small Business needs

This source has great articles about "the new economy" and community. Take a look.

An excerpt: "In 2015, we interviewed 41 leaders of small business organizations in 25 states representing 24,000 member businesses. They told us they believed that spending on business incentives in their states favored large corporations and that the current incentive system was not fair to small companies. 'We suffer from the paradigm that it’s always better to bring in a business from outside to bring new jobs rather than investing locally to grow the economy,' one leader told us.

"On top of that, we found that there is a mismatch between what small businesses need and what is offered to them by state economic development agencies... What small businesses really need, we found, is investment in their communities and customers who felt economically secure and had stable, well-paid jobs that gave them extra money to spend. By supermajorities, small business leaders said state tax incentives aren’t useful to small or growing businesses."

Kathleen Finnerty

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#26: Large space for artist studios

Artists are a huge draw to any town. It would be wonderful if a large building could be divided into multiple working artist studios. Having open studio events would be a big draw for visitors. Plus this is a great way to provide studio space for artists.

Dale Vandenhouten

In Duluth, Minn., they took a former school, remodeled the inside to apartments for artists, with a couple big sky-lit studios, and an exhibit space. It was a fantastic concept. I'd love to see that happen with the old West Side school. Here's a link to Washington Studios .

Monica Krause Sawyn

Minneapolis has had huge success with this open studio concept with the old Northrup King seed building. As an artist myself I would be very interested in participating in a concept of this sort in Sturgeon Bay.

Dale Vandenhouten

#24: Business Advisory Group

I would like to see an organization of active and retired business practitioners (business owners, accountants, lawyers, financial advisors, academics, etc.) who meet regularly to discuss their views of the Sturgeon Bay community as it relates to business development/enhancement. These discussions would welcome public participation with facilitation by members. This group would be available to existing or prospective entrepreneurs to provide expertise in their particular fields and to offer a second opinion/critical eye to evaluate plans and ideas. The format would be informal and accessible.

Laurel Brooks

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#23: Poetry and Jobs

I hope the title got your interest :).

Here’s the idea. It strikes me that for living-and-working-in Sturgeon Bay, professional writer (writer, journalist, editor, etc.) is a very viable job and career. In part this is true because many aspects of this career can be done from anywhere in the interconnected world - and so it is appealing in the community of Sturgeon Bay with its quality of life advantages. In part this is viable because of the strong arts community in town, the fellowship of writers, and Write On Door County. We can build on our strengths in retaining and attracting young workers.

I suggest a “Future Poet Laureate” program, funded by the City for $500 per year. The High School would appoint an English teacher to facilitate the program, and set up a process to select one promising and motivated writing student each semester. Each semester, the teacher and the selected student would both be funded to attend one Write On workshop together (that’s $300 for four workshop fees per year, give or take). The student each semester would also receive a $100 stipend. Write On Door County could perhaps help facilitate connecting a professional writing mentor with the student and teacher each semester, who could meet with them during the semester for shared learning and critique.

The student then leads off each city council meeting (or maybe one council meeting each month) by reading a poem or short piece of prose they have written.

Classmates will tune in to watch the meeting and proudly see their fellow classmate - and this helps build future citizen engagement. The high school has an opportunity to demonstrate writing as a good career option.

And, I love the idea of starting off each council meeting with a poem. There is nothing like a little poetry to set a welcoming tone for the community and the meeting.

Thank you.
Nancy Aten

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#22: Ideas...

I'd like to see a university extension in our town for Marine research, creative arts (music/theater/visual arts), or cutting edge research in nano technology, medical/bio research, that sort of thing. An educational facility that attracts younger folks and a new layer of academic faculty. The city should also connect with places like Nashville, Portland OR, Portland Maine, San Francisco, and other high priced cities where people are looking for alternatives to their expensive, high pressure lifestyles. A welding job at Bay Ship may not be attractive to them, but what about affordable housing, a solid infrastructure (high speed internet), good educational facilities, and meaningful incentives for young entrepreneurs? Cool office spaces in an old granary or a converted high school would do it. So would a waterfront park with festivals, including an annual LGBT festival. All city parks could be pesticide free (great promo for the city), and silent sports could be boosted (great promo for the city).

Hans Christian

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#21: Attracting businesses to vacant storefronts

For attracting businesses to vacant storefronts, I suggest looking at Popuphood from Oakland. They've done a great job at revitalizing their downtown and incubating new businesses.

Caitlin Oleson

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#20: Businesses to attract to Sturgeon Bay

My preference would be to see green business such as residential and commercial solar businesses along with green planning for homes and gardens. I think these kinds of business can be sustained.

John Wilson

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#19: Maker's space?

Now that the Tractor store will take about 1/3rd of the old Kmart building, perhaps the remaining could become a maker's space...?

Linda Beckman

If you're interested in a maker's space I encourage you to attend an open house at the Liberty Grove Town Hall on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. NWTC is interested in building a maker's space in Liberty Grove but it would be a great opportunity to lobby for Sturgeon Bay!

Caitlin Oleson

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#18: Safeguard Historic Bridge

The protection of the Historic Michigan Street Bridge, from potential damaging accidents like the most recent truck and backhoe incident, needs to be addressed. It is important for serious measures to be taken at the City, County, and State levels, to come up with a solution, that would warn vehicles with height issues, before getting to the bridge. Such measures are important regardless of the fact that the recent inspection revealed no imminent danger structurally, and weight restrictions were lifted. There has been significant investment by all parties, to restore and give normal use to this significant historic icon; it is our job to protect it. Simple, inexpensive, effective solutions exist. Right now, there should at least be flashing signs at the approaches warning of height clearance. I have included some examples here and here of warning systems used elsewhere.

Thank you. Shawn Fairchild

#17: WI Voter I.D.

What a great bunch of suggestions so far. I love the arts council idea raised by Laurel Hauser and seconded by Melissa Clark as well as Kathleen Finnerty's arts ideas. I agree with Dan O'Hern that we need to watch the safety and quality of our water.

I am very concerned with the statewide issue of the demands and perhaps intimidation that comes along with our new Voter I.D, law. We could stand out as a community that fights this by contacting our legislators to say that we feel that it stands in the way of citizens' right to vote. The League of Women Voters has created a pdf that can be printed that informs people what forms of I.D. are currently acceptable. Having worked the polls in the April primary and having seen how many people were trying to register to vote or to change their addresses, I'd love to see us all work to get people registered before the November election.

Lynn Gilchrist

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#16: Be an Ice Age Trail Community

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail has its northeastern terminus in Sturgeon Bay - ! (and is one of only four National Parks facilities in Wisconsin). The trail route follows the Ahnapee State Trail and then proceeds through Sturgeon Bay's west side streets, ending in Potawatomi State Park. This would seem to have significant economic potential: signs for and improvements of our sections of this National Scenic Trail (including street sections in Sturgeon Bay's west side), attracting business branding like, say, a Mammoth Cafe, connecting with school programs, having a Mammoth walk/run, selling the Ice Age National Scenic Trail merchandise including guide books, maps, t-shirts... trail-building internships for our students... many possibilities.

Ice Age National Scenic Trail route

We could work toward becoming an "Ice Age Trail Community" - see this. "What is a Trail Community? The Ice Age Trail Alliance’s Trail Communities program is designed as a symbiotic relationship between the Ice Age Trail Alliance (IATA) and communities near the Trail which enhances awareness of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IANST) and improves the quality of life in communities throughout Wisconsin. Initially, a Trail Community will be defined as a community with the IANST going directly through it, is part of a school district and has had a partnership with the IATA. Future definitions of a Trail Community may expand to include broader regions. This program will formalize existing partnerships as well as establish a template that can be used to build partnerships in the future. Criteria – A strong community application will include the following: • An application committee comprised of elected officials, Chamber of Commerce (or related group), businesses and local Ice Age Trail Alliance chapter representatives; • Community support for the Ice Age Trail and Ice Age Trail Alliance is evident; • Language for the protection of the Ice Age Trail is included in local land use plans, planning tools, ordinances, and/or guidelines; or demonstrate support to amend change or add to such plans; • Involvement with the Ice Age Trail Alliance or Ice Age Trail with a local school including participation, or willingness to participate in, a Saunters program or service-learning event; • Willingness to host a volunteer-based event such as a Mobile Skills Crew event, local chapter hike(s) or trailwide events."

Thank you for your consideration.

Nancy Aten

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#15: Labyrinth

I think we could do a wonderful thing for our community by building a labyrinth in Sunset Park. We could have an informational sign outside the start of it and people would enjoy the opportunity to walk in a mindful setting. We certainly have the people in the area who could design it and others who would help build it.

Kathleen Finnerty

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#14: Active art

I would like to see art activities such as paint a mural on Roger Rockwell's building that faces the city parking lot. Roger is in agreement. If we could find a design that would work well with families, or groups from organizations, painting parts of of the mural. A design that would be one big cohesive "picture" but is painted by these different folks working on their piece. It is a very community building exercise in that everyone would be contributing as a family or group to one big mural. Everyone would be adding to the whole for the community. I've been talking about this is in some fashion with Roger over the years. I don't have the time to organize this but someone really needs to!

Kathleen Finnerty

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#13: Bird City Sturgeon Bay

I would like to see Sturgeon Bay plan to apply for Wisconsin Bird City designation! I believe the actions necessary to meet the criteria would be widely supported. Perhaps County staff, who have experience in this program, could answer questions about the process.

Door County became a Bird City county in 2014. Within Door County -- Ephraim, Baileys Harbor and Egg Harbor are designated Bird Cities. Nearby, the city of Algoma is also designated. The criteria are found here.

The Bird City logo, signs for a designated Bird City

Here are their "A Dozen Reasons to Become a Bird City: 1. Make a strong contribution to community pride. Present the kind of image that most citizens want to have for the place they live or conduct business. Bird City provides a way to reach large numbers of people with important "green" information; 2. Promote and grow your community's environmental reputation through a program that provides guidance, resources and recognition. Bird City trumpets your current conservation successes while promoting strategies for coordinated, far-reaching, bird-centered conservation activities going forward; 3. Sustain healthy, functioning natural systems in your community. Wild birds are essential to pollinate flowers, disseminate seeds, and help keep insect populations under control; 4. Sustain healthy, functioning natural systems worldwide. Like the proverbial canaries in a coal mine, birds serve as indicators of the ecological health of our planet. Because of their rapid metabolism and wide geographic distribution, birds provide early warning to us of changes in the environment and potentially harmful biological conditions. Robust, diverse bird populations reflect the underlying health of the ecosystem in which they – and we – live. Since we share our planet with all other species, what happens to birds can happen to us; 5. Save money. Without the environmental assistance we get from birds, we would have to spend far more money on pest control and keeping natural systems in balance. Insect-eating birds reduce the need for chemical pest control. Birds also are voracious eaters of weed plants and rodents. They provide us with “free ecological services” and are unheralded assistants to farmers, foresters and gardeners; 6. Make money. Bird watching is one of the fastest growing forms of outdoor recreation in the United States. In 2006 more than 48 million Americans watched birds and spent more than $32 billion on the pastime. People travel to see birds, buy backyard bird feeders and houses, landscape for birds, and spend money to support bird research and protect bird habitat. In Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources estimates that wildlife watchers spent $1.3 billion on their hobby in 2001; 7. Have fun and relax. In addition to being just plain fun, watching birds can help relieve stress. Watching birds at a feeder or birdbath can be a family experience, with kids, parents, and grandparents; 8. Get outdoors! Watching birds can often spark kids' interest in nature and the outdoors. More and more research is revealing the health benefits to kids who spend more time outdoors; 9. Understand nature. Birds pull so much together. Learning about birds is more than learning about a single season, type of animal, or habitat. Birds teach us about how we’re all connected and how vulnerable our environment can become. Birds live among us .... and we among them; 10. Build community spirit. Bird-friendly actions by a community can build cooperation between public and private sectors to effectively manage many types of urban habitat, including forests, prairies and wetlands; 11. Build beneficial networks. Bird-friendly actions by a community put people in touch with other communities and resources that can result in mutually-beneficial outcomes; 12. Improve the local environment. New wildlife habitat areas can offer aesthetic, social, economical and environmental benefits."

Thank you for your consideration.

Nancy Aten

(Sent via Center Line Community Forum)

#12: Blue-ribbon panel on attracting and retaining young professionals

How about a blue ribbon panel convened by the City to strategically assess what is needed to attract and retain young professionals, that is led by NexGen Door County members?

See this article from last week's YPWeek activities, excerpted here:

"To further his involvement in the overall Door County community, Kernosky has joined the steering committee of NexGen Door County, the newly developing young professional’s network. He also leads NexGen’s Strategic Planning Committee. 'Working in the city, we (NexGen) recognized we have a workforce demand,' Kernosky said. 'Having NexGen will help, as it grows, to ease the transition of Door County being just for retirees and empty nesters to a place for all generations to live and work.' He is hoping the organization will be the start of changing the persona of Door County to be a place to live and work instead of just working or just living here."

From wikipedia: "...a blue-ribbon panel (or blue ribbon commission) is a group of exceptional people appointed to investigate or study or analyze a given question. Blue-ribbon panels generally have a degree of independence from political influence or other authority, and such panels usually have no direct authority of their own. Their value comes from their ability to use their expertise to issue findings or recommendations which can then be used by those with decision-making power to act...[] The 'blue-ribbon' aspect comes from the presentation of the panel as the 'best and brightest' for the task, and the appointment of such a panel, ad hoc, is meant to signal its perspective as outsiders of the usual process for study and decisions".

(Sent via Center Line Community Forum)

Response from Ryan Kernosky, City Planner (Thank you, Ryan):

I would question the need for another organization to do what NexGen and several others (Discuss Door County, DCEDC Workforce Housing Taskforce, Workforce Development Group, etc.) already are doing. Unfortunately, the NexGen Young Professionals Network is still in a growing stage (we are less than a year old), but I could see down the road when the organization grows taking on some of these “blue-ribbon” type of initiatives. We have been working on a strategic plan to grow our organization, which includes doing extensive outreach to the high schools and business community. Thanks to Bill Chaudoir and Sam Perlman from DCEDC for recognizing the need for a young professionals network and helping us financially while we continue to grow.
 
To whomever submitted this idea, if you’re interested in joining NexGen’s leadership team or one of the several other groups discussion retaining young professionals in Door County, please feel free to contact me and I can get you in touch with the right person.  
 
Ryan Kernosky

#11: The importance of art in creative place-making

I want to support the suggestion of Laurel Hauser that we have an arts council, and echo the suggestions of others that we nourish our burgeoning Arts District. Art, public or otherwise, is immensely important in creating a sense of place, a pride in our beautiful, creative community and the inspiration it gives us all, whether we consider ourselves artists or not. (All humans are beauty-craving creatives at root; we just sometimes lose touch with this part of ourselves.) It's become pretty typical in many big cities for disused industrial or downtown buildings to become places for art - our natural beauty, in addition to these sorts of spaces, makes our downtown arts area a no-brainer. People already flock here for various art-related events and reasons - now we need support, organization, infrastructure, branding. We need a council, signage, and even more public art. We need creations and products that enforce this positive, art-saturated view of our home.

Melissa Clark

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#10: Mayoral column in the paper

I'd like to suggest bringing back a mayoral column in the paper. In the past, Mayor Greene had a regular editorial column in the Advocate where he discussed citizen concerns, upcoming road repair, comparing tax levies, how to pay for the library, etc. (Examples below). This could be a regular column by the mayor and/or it could be a rotating column among all the elected officials. I think this would be a good opportunity to open up discussions of ongoing city business and also help avoid misunderstandings.
Thanks for your consideration.

Nancy Aten

(Sent via Center Line Community Forum)

#9: Bicycle ambassador volunteers for the Police Department

Here is a good example from Appleton that seems like it could work very well in Sturgeon Bay, where trained volunteers are helping the community with bicycle safety and also with being extra eyes and ears for the Police Department.

"...27 trained volunteers are turning their love of cycling into community service. According to Gwen Hinzman Sargeant, 'Mostly we’re interested in modeling that good behavior so that people see you riding the right way in the bike lanes, riding with traffic, using hand signals, stopping at intersections, modeling all of that great behavior.' But the duty of the bike ambassadors isn’t just safe biking. They are also extra eyes and ears for the city police. They’re sometimes given assignments, and are asked to target certain areas where authorities maybe seeing an increase in problems. Lt. Mike Wallace with the Appleton Police Department helps organize the ambassador program. He says, 'We’re not asking them to do police work, just asking that they report any problems that they come across and in doing so, even the presence of those people out and about in those neighborhoods where we’re experiencing problems can benefit the police department and help deter some of that criminal activity.' It’s a mission that not only allows cycling enthusiasts to ride, but one they know is making a difference in their community. Lt. Wallace says, 'Last year we had 17 ambassadors and during the course of the cycling season they logged 493 hours of community service so that’s a pretty impressive total.' Anyone interested in joining the Bike Ambassador Program should contact the Appleton Police Department."

posted on fb from wbay.com by Chesla Seely-Anschutz

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#8: Independent Composting Programs

How about an amazing expanded community compost program, working with all of our restaurants, and adding jobs? Here are some ideas:
"7 Cities with Awesome Independent Composting Programs ... farmers, eco-minded entrepreneurs, and nonprofits have launched companies and programs that turn composting into a community affair... In South Jordan, Utah, EcoScraps recycles organic matter from stores and restaurants, converting it into compost, fertilizer, and potting soil, all sold nationally. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Compost Crusader consults with the hosts of festivals, fundraising events, and weddings on how to throw low- or zero-waste affairs. The company provides supplies and removes food scraps, which it incorporates into the compost it makes from residential and commercial pickups. In Montpelier, Vermont, founded by a network of area farmers who needed high-quality compost for growing fruits and vegetables, Vermont Compost accepts kitchen scraps from eco-conscious consumers, who drop their stuff in a bin at the end of the company’s driveway. In Boston, Massachusetts, the can-do team at Bootstrap Compost co-opts bicycle trailers, hand trucks, and vans to haul food waste from subscribers (condo residents, café owners) to local farms. Once the compost is cured, it’s used on the farms, but subscribers get an allotment for their own gardening projects, too. In Raleigh, North Carolina, since 2010, CompostNow has helped Research-Triangle and Asheville area residents divert one-third of their household garbage from landfills. The company swaps clean bins out for full ones, and members “earn” portions of the resulting compost, which they can keep or donate to local gardens. In Aberdeen, Maryland, Veteran Compost employs former military servicemen to bring food waste from residences, businesses, and schools in the D.C.-metro area to the firm’s wind-powered farm, where the refuse gets turned into organic compost available for purchase online. In Sacramento, California, the bicycle-powered fleet at nonprofit GRAS/ReSoil Sacramento nabs kitchen scraps from area restaurants and delivers them to local farms, community gardens, and schools to turn into compost for their vegetable plots." (Source: http://modernfarmer.com/2015/10/american-cities-with-composting-programs/)

Shutterstock image, Modern Farmer http://modernfarmer.com/2015/10/american-cities-with-composting-programs/, Sheila Pell article

posted by Edible Door and Smart Growth Sturgeon Bay

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