Join the Campaign to Love Lake Michigan

Take the pledge to love Lake Michigan at LoveLakeMichigan.org and get a free bumper sticker. You can also get your Lake Michigan photo featured on the website by posting it to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #loveLakeMichigan.

We will be giving away Love Lake Michigan t-shirts and pint glasses in October! Watch our E-Newsletter next month for your chance to win.

DATCP Buy Local Grants

Since its inception in 2008, the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin grant program has generated $6 million in new local food sales. Farmers and others in Wisconsin's food industry who want to grow their local markets are encouraged to apply in the 2015 round of grants. Managed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), the grants can help farms and business more efficiently process, market and distribute food in local markets, including stores, schools and institutions. Pre-proposals must be received at DATCP by 4:00 p.m. on December 1, 2014. Each pre-proposal must include a cover page, a completed budget template, and three-page project description. Qualified projects selected during the pre-proposal round will be invited to complete a full proposal. The recipients will be announced in March 2015. A total of $200,000 is available in grant funding; the maximum award for each project is $50,000. Grant applicants must provide a cash or in-kind match of at least 50 percent of the total project budget. The necessary documents can be found online.

If you have questions about the application process, contact Juli Speck, DATCP's Grants Manager at 608-224-5134 or Juli.Speck@Wisconsin.gov.

2014 Equalized Values Published

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue published its final 2014 Equalized Values (minus TID value) for counties and communities. 

In the Bay-Lake Region, Kewaunee County saw the largest increase in its equalized value of 34% ($485+ million) due to the closure and reclassification of the Kewaunee Power Station. 

Brown County grew by 2%; Oconto County 1.2%; Manitowoc County 0.75%; Sheboygan County 0.4%; and Florence County was up less than a tenth of a percent. On the other hand, Door County saw its equalized value drop 4% and Marinette County lost nearly 3% in value. 

In regard to the region's larger cities, the City of Manitowoc grew 1.1%; City of Green Bay 0.68%; City of Sheboygan 0.19%; and in contrast, the City of Marinette lost nearly 3% of its equalized value this past year. 

For more information, please visit the Wisconsin Department of Revenue's website.

Wisconsin Coastal Management Program Grants

Approximately $1.5 million is available through the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program (WCMP) to enhance and restore coastal resources within the state's coastal zone -- all counties adjacent to Lakes Superior and Michigan, with their 1,000 miles of shoreline. Applications are requested for projects within the following categories:

• *Coastal Wetland Protection and Habitat Restoration
• *Nonpoint Source Pollution Control
• *Coastal Resource and Community Planning
• *Great Lakes Education
• *Public Access 
• *Community Planning 

All Application materials are available on the WCMP website. Contact Angela Pierce if you need assistance developing a project or submitting an application. The application deadline is Monday, November 3, 2014. 

Sheboygan MPO Update

Commission staff prepared draft Chapter 4 (Mission Statement, Goals and Objectives) of the Year 2045 Sheboygan Area Transportation Plan (SATP) in August. This draft chapter was presented at the August joint meeting of the Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees.

Commission staff presented draft Chapter 5 (Existing Condition of the Transportation Network) of the Year 2045 SATP at the June, July and August joint meetings of the Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees.

Commission staff completed the agency's Title VI Program in July. The Title VI Program covers the agency as a whole, including the Commission's Sheboygan MPO and Regional Transportation programs. The Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees recommended approval of MPO elements of the program at their July joint meeting, and the Commission approved the program at a meeting of its Executive Committee in late July. The adopted final Title VI program can be found at the Commission's website.

Commission staff prepared a minor amendment to the Sheboygan Metropolitan Planning Area Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): Calendar Years 2013 - 2016 in August. This amendment adds a project requested by the WisDOT Northeast Region. The project involves a sequencing and prioritization study for various future projects on Interstate Highway 43 in Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Brown counties. The Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees recommended approval of this minor amendment at their August joint meeting, and the Commission is scheduled to take action on this amendment at its September meeting.

Upcoming activities include: completion of the 2015 Sheboygan Metropolitan Planning Area Transportation Planning Work Program; completion of the Sheboygan Metropolitan Planning Area TIP: Calendar Years 2015 - 2018; continued progress on the Year 2045 SATP; and administration of passenger opinion and boarding and alighting surveys for Shoreline Metro.

Please contact Jeff Agee-Aguayo for additional information.

The Commission has 2-4 offices available for occupancy. The offices range in size from 108 sq. ft. to 143 sq. ft.  Each office has a window with partial furnishings. The rent is $7.00/sf and includes utilities. There will be an additional monthly cost for phone and internet service, parking, and office cleaning. A conference room and small break room are included in the rental cost. If your organization is seeking temporary or long-term office space close to all the downtown amenities, please contact Richard Heath for more information. 

Richard Heath 

Executive Director

Jeff Agee-Aguayo

Transportation

Planner

Richard Malone 

Office Accounts

Coordinator 

Angela Pierce 

Natural Resources

 Planner

Brandon Robinson 

Community Assistance

Planner

Joshua Schedler

GIS Coordinator