A Million Dollar Miscommunication

A major miscommunication between the Door County Board of Supervisors and the recently organized 501c3 group Friends of the Senior Center was revealed at the Sept. 11 meeting of the county Property Committee.

At the previous Property Committee meeting on Aug. 27, members said the plan to build a new senior center had unraveled because the Friends group had been tasked to raise $2 million for the center, with $1 million of that due by Sept. 1, and since that did not happen, the proposal was dead in the water.

But at the most recent meeting, former county board supervisor Dale Wiegand said the idea of forming a 501c3 Friends group for the senior center was meant to pattern an organization after the various friends of the park groups that do so much good for county and state parks.

He said the group raised enough money to apply for 501c3 status in April and were approved as a nonprofit organization in June, with the idea of raising money for the senior center.

But the group was never consulted about raising $2 million, or the Sept. 1 deadline, he said. “When I heard about the board wanting the Friends group to raise $2 million, I was taken aback. Nobody asked us,” he said.

He said the board did not give the Friends group enough time to raise money. “We’re not professional fundraisers,” he said. “We can raise funds, but it’s not going to be tomorrow.”

From the audience, County Board Chair Dan Austad said he was approached by several people who told him the friends group already had a $1 million donation so the county board should fast-track the senior center plans. “So we fast-tracked getting the plan because that’s what they said they needed,” he said.

Committee Chair Richard Virlee asked how close the Friends group is to raising money.

“So you want us to raise $1 million?” Wiegand said. “This is actually the first time I am hearing that you want us to raise $1 million….You guys are saying the building will not start until we raise $1 million. To me, that is ridiculous.”

He added that the group has $5,000 in its donation fund. “It’s going to take some time,” he said.

County Administrator Ken Pabich suggested that everyone settle down. “Now we can sit down and say we have some needs identified,” he said. “Let’s sit down and talk about it.”