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2005 Door County Legislative Day Details
Announced
May 4-6, 2005 will be the dates for the second Door County Legislative Day
event
in Madison. This year's events are building directly on the success of the
first Door County Legislative Day in 2003, which brought the specific
concerns of the community directly to elected representatives and
influential government appointees.
Door County Legislative Day will again be headquartered at the Inn On The
Park hotel on Capitol Square in downtown Madison. The event has been
extended this year to provide more time for Door County delegates to meet
with legislators, government leaders and state agencies. The main events
are scheduled on Thursday, May 5th, when delegates will call on state
legislators in the afternoon and enjoy a reception, an authentic Door
County
fish boil dinner and Door County entertainment in the evening. May 4 and 6
will be reserved for visiting selected state agencies.
The itinerary for the 2005 Door County Legislative Day is summarized
below.
Wednesday, May 4
Morning - Travel
Afternoon - Delegate meetings with selected state agencies
Thursday, May 5
Morning - Breakfast meeting with legislative leaders
Additional delegate meetings with state agencies
Noon - Lunch meeting hosted by Senator Lasee and Representative Bies
Afternoon - Door County delegate meetings with state legislators
Evening - Reception, fish boil and entertainment
Friday, May 6
Morning - Breakfast meeting with Gov. Jim Doyle (invited)
Delegate meetings with state agencies
A volunteer committee is currently working to develop the legislative and
state agency agenda topics and issues that will be presented in Madison.
The goal of this event is to educate state lawmakers and agency officials
about Door County and to request legislative and state agency action that
will help address local issues and concerns. To provide input or
suggestions on the agenda, contact the Legislative Day Agenda Committee
Chair, Rob Burke, at 920-743-2260.
The inaugural Door County Legislative Day was held in April 2003 and was a
great success. The exceptional turnout of 100 Door County delegates,
combined with the warm reception that the delegation received in Madison
and, most importantly, the excellent progress that has been achieved on
the
2003 Legislative Day Agenda, inspired the Legislative Day Steering
Committee
to repeat and expand the event for 2005.
The 2003 legislative agenda consisted of five main topics and numerous
related sub-issues: Water Quality and Safety of Beaches; State Highway 57
Four-lane Improvement Project; Supporting Education Through Fairness and
Equity in Education Funding; Improve the Door County Business Climate; and
Construction of a New Bridge in Downtown Sturgeon Bay at the Maple Street
to
Oregon Street Crossing (Michigan St. Bridge Replacement). Overall, there
have been positive results achieved on just about every topic included on
the 2003 agenda.
Among the positive consequences from the 2003 Legislative Day event, Door
County received a $72,500 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce
to
fund an economic development plan that will help the County deal with the
loss of manufacturing jobs and help chart a course to expand the local
economy. The results of the recently completed study will be unveiled at a
Door County Economic Summit, immediately following the Door County
Economic
Development Corporation Annual Investors Meeting on Monday, April 25.
"The 2003 Legislative Day raised legislator awareness of the challenge
Door
County has to define, identify and address the factors associated with the
contamination of the near shore beach waters," said issue co-chair Bill
Schuster of the Door County Soil and Water Department. "Door County
received
a $25,000 grant from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program in 2004 to
help fund our source investigation research. Continued attention and focus
on this project from our informed legislators will aid in our local
efforts."
Additionally, the County received a $75,000 grant from the Wisconsin
Department of Commerce to partially fund a feasibility study for a
potential
telecommunications infrastructure upgrade throughout the peninsula, and
garnered a commitment from Wisconsin Department of Transportation Deputy
Secretary Ruben Anthony that the four-lane expansion of State Highway 57
is
budgeted to be completed by 2008.
The 2005 Door County Legislative Day will require at least 100 local
delegates in Madison to effectively call on legislators: anyone interested
in participating should contact the Door County Economic Development
Corporation by phone at 920-743-3113 or e-mail
bill@doorcountybusiness.com.
The cost to participate for delegates is only $25, made possible by a
variety of local sponsors, including the County of Door, the City of
Sturgeon Bay, local civic groups and several private businesses. Anyone
interested in supporting Door County Legislative Day and helping to reach
the goal of $12,000 in sponsorship funds should also contact DCEDC.
Door County Legislative Day is a collaborative effort, jointly planned by
the Door County Economic Development Corporation, the Door County Chamber
of
Commerce and Visitors and Convention Bureau, the Door County office of the
University of Wisconsin-Extension program, the Sturgeon Bay Visitors and
Convention Bureau and various other local volunteers. For further
information, call 920-743-3113 or e-mail
bill@doorcountybusiness.com. |
