A large group of interested Door County residents turned out Monday for a listening session on a proposal to build a new facility to house a new senior center, an aging & disability resource center, & the public health department. Members of the audience were asked to add their input to the information being gathered by an ad hoc committee. The audience heard from Joe Stadelman, a consultant from Angus-Young Associates of Janesville, who reported on work done to date. Stadelman noted that three sites were being considered for a potential building, the current site, the YMCA property in Sturgeon Bay, or the Justice Center site. When the public was asked about a preferred site, the majority supported either the current location or the YMCA site.
Discussion also focused on the food service program. The consensus of speakers was that the food provided was high quality & nutritious. the audience learned that the ad hoc committee is looking into such food service options as having a full service kitchen, having a serving area for food prepared somewhere else, having County employees continue food preparation, or having a private contractor do the work.
As for how to pay for the project, audience members were told that the County could bond for the project, spreading payments out over many years. It was also noted that grants & donations could bring the cost down. It was stressed that it’s very early in the process, so estimates are fluid, but the best guess at this point is that the building project could cost between three point six & four point one million dollars, depending on the location, with the YMCA site on the lower end & the Justice Center site on the higher side.
County Board Supervisor Ben Meyer, chairman of the ad hoc committee says he was very pleased at the turnout for the listening session. Meyer says the input provided by residents was valuable…[audio:http://wdor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/N1187.mp3|titles=Ben Meyer]
Meyer says the ad hoc committee has a lot of work ahead of it…[audio:http://wdor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/N1188.mp3|titles=Ben Meyer]
Meyer says his hope is that listening sessions for residents in Forestville & Baileys Harbor will be scheduled in the near future so the committee can receive their input on the building proposal.
