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Door County Economic Development Corporation
"Business By Nature"
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December 2004
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Greetings!
Welcome to the final 2004 edition of the Door County
Economic Development Corporation e-newsletter.
Overall, this year has been a positive one for Door
County. Bay Ship has been growing; Palmer Johnson
emerged from bankruptcy and has four new boats
under construction. On the technology front,
Sturgeon Bay now has DSL service available, and Egg
Harbor is getting cable service. Through our
Revolving Loan Fund programs we helped Appliance
Doctor Door County, Wisconsin Thermo Form, and
HTF, Inc. expand their businesses and add jobs, and
we assisted WireCraft's new owners in their purchase
of the company.
We continue to work on the Door County Economic
Development Adjustment plan, the feasibility study
for our fiber to the home telecommunications
initiative, and lobbying for the implementation of the
Shipbuilding Cluster Master Plan. We're happy to be
working with a serious potential buyer for the former
Emerson Motors building in the Sturgeon Bay
industrial park. And, of course, we're here every day
to give guidance and assistance to the entrepreneurs
and business owners of Door County. We look
forward to the challenges ahead in 2005.
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DCEDC Takes Entrepreneurs to the NxLevel of Business Planning
DCEDC, in association with the UW-GB Small Business
Development Center and NWTC, is proud to sponsor
the fourth annual NxLevel Entrepreneurial Training
course in Door County. Beginning January 24 at
NWTC - Sturgeon Bay, this twelve-week course
takes students through a step-by-step approach to
writing a professional business plan. The course is
designed for those who are considering starting their
own business, existing small businesses struggling to
get a handle on all the details or successful
businesses looking to grow.
As a preview to the course, DCEDC and the Sturgeon
Bay Noon Rotary Club will host a free introduction to
business-planning seminar, "Starting A Business in
Door County," on Monday, January 10, 6-9pm at
NWTC - Sturgeon Bay. This one-evening course will
talk about some of the basics that go into a start-up
business. The session will also allow for interested
students to sign up for the NxLevel Entrepreneurial
Training course and apply for a Department of
Commerce grant that covers 75% of the tuition for
qualified applicants.
Full story
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DCEDC Announces Funding for Affordable Housing
The combined efforts of local and state government,
DCEDC and MeadowWood Homes, LLC will result in
the creation of at least fifteen new homes that
address the needs of Door County homebuyers of
low- to moderate income (LMI) levels. Door County
was recently awarded a Community Development
Block Grant from the Wisconsin Department of
Commerce, Bureau of Housing. The $467,500 grant
will be administered by the DCEDC, and a portion of
the funds have been allocated to establishing zero
percent interest, $15,000 loans to qualified LMI
homebuyers.
The loans - which will be used to offset the purchase
price on new homes in the MeadowWood
development in Liberty Grove township - will provide
qualified LMI homebuyers with immediate equity and
allow them to more easily secure traditional financing
for the balance of the cost of the home. When those
loans are repaid to the county (as the initial buyer
sells their home in the MeadowWood development),
those funds will go towards creating a Revolving Loan
Fund for future attainable housing projects in Door
County.
Full Story
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Sturgeon Bay Adopts Attainable Housing Zoning Changes
The Sturgeon Bay City Council recently adopted
seven changes to the City zoning code with the
intent of encouraging the development of attainable
housing in the city. The changes were part of a
fifteen-point recommendation made to the City Plan
Commission last year by the DCEDC Attainable
Housing Committee. Taken together, the changes
allow for two things that can help to improve
affordability - lower initial construction costs for
developers and reduced ongoing energy costs for
occupants. The City Plan commission is now
considering recommending additional changes to the
City Council sometime in 2005.
Among other changes, the new amendments have
the effect of: reducing the minimum lot area in the R-
2 and R-3 districts to 7500 sq. ft.; reducing minimum
floor area for two family dwelling to 500 sq. ft. for
smallest unit and 1500 sq. ft. combined total area;
allowing zero lot line duplexes (where permitted),
subject to standards; reducing the minimum floor
area for multiple family dwellings to 500, 750, and
1000 sq. ft. for 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, and 3
bedroom units, respectively; and adjusting the
maximum dwelling length to width ratio to 2.5 to 1.
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DKBEP News
The Door/Kewaunee Business and Education
Partnership offers to set up job shadowing, business
tours and guest speakers for local school districts, to
help educate area students on the wide variety of
career opportunities available in Door County. We
are always looking for business people to help us
facilitate this process. If you are interested in
having a student shadow you or have a small group
of students tour your facility, please contact the
DKBEP Program Manager, Sharon Spengler at
Sharon@doorcountybusiness.com or 920-743-3113
x205.
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Bay Shipbuilding Company: A Manufacturer of Distinction
Bay Shipbuilding Company recently was recognized
with a 2004 Manufacturers of Distinction Award by
Advance, the Green Bay Area Chamber of
Commerce's economic development arm. The award
honors companies from a seven county Northeast
Wisconsin region who have achieved excellence in
manufacturing during the past year. DCEDC
nominated BSC for the award.
Full story
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Bon Voyage!
All of us here at DCEDC send our best wishes to Larry
Gajda, who recently stepped down as chair of the
DCEDC board. Larry has taken a new job with F&M
Banks in Pulaski and moved out of Door County. We
are grateful to Larry for his many years of volunteer
service to DCEDC and his efforts to improve the Door
County economy. We wish Larry and his family all the
best in their new location.
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More Board Changes
In addition to Mr. Gajda, the DCEDC Board of
Directors recently bid adieu to Barbara Allman, who
left the Sturgeon Bay City Council after moving out
of her district. The new City Council representative
to the Board is Ken Glasheen. Replacing Larry Gajda
on the board will be John Severson of F&M Bank. Also
new to the board is Jim Stawicki, the new Business
Manager of Sturgeon Bay Utilities.
The newly nominated officers for the 2005 DCEDC
Board are David Weber (Chairman), Sharon Haines
(Vice Chair), Cindy Weber (Treasurer) and Bill
Chaudoir (Secretary). DCEDC at-large Board members
who will be reelected to their positions include Cindy
Weber, Dave Neuville and Sharon Haines.
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Season's Greetings
As we enter the month of December, the entire
DCEDC staff would like to wish each of you a joyous
holiday season, filled with family, fun, food and
frivolity. We hope you all have a safe, healthy,
peaceful and prosperous New Year!
Sincerely,
Bill, Kay, Sharon and Sam
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