Door County North Builds Vision for Visitor Center

Mary Ellen Sisulak and Larry “Thor” Thoreson, board members for Door County North, discuss the prospect of a new visitor center outside the current visitor center. Photo by Len Villano.

Door County North may have broken from the Top of the Thumb brand, but the group is still committed to making sure that visitors to the county cast their eyes, and their wallets, northward.

To that end, the marketing and business representation group has already produced a new, polished brochure that lays out the businesses and activities that travelers can find in Liberty Grove, begun some renovation work at the information booth in downtown Ellison Bay, and launched a new website at DoorCountyNorth.org.

But in a May 16 presentation to the Liberty Grove Town Board, Door County North board members Larry “Thor” Thoreson and Mary Ellen Sisulak laid out their group’s ultimate goal: creating a brand new Liberty Grove visitor center.

“Looking long term, we need to grow our area. We need to grow our story,” said Thoreson. “And that is where we feel that we need a place to tell our story.”

The properties Door County North has in mind for the new visitor center are the parking lot owned by the Czepulonis family and the adjacent property owned by Dean Johnson, both of which are located across from the Viking Grill. The Town of Liberty Grove has previously looked into purchasing those properties for various uses, but negotiations fell through.

If the property could be acquired, Door County North wants to clear out some of the overgrowth there and use the house as the basis of the new visitor center.

Door County North’s budget, which is provided by its membership and Strategic Community Partnership funds from the Door County Visitor Bureau, is already fairly stretched, so if a new visitor center is to be created the Town of Liberty Grove will likely have to provide funding. That funding could come via the room tax money that the town collects each year.

By state statute, 70 percent of the money collected via room tax is put directly back into tourism promotion. In Door County, that 70 percent goes to the Visitor Bureau and the Tourism Zone Commission. The remaining 30 percent is sent back to the municipality that it came from.

Currently, the Town of Liberty Grove brings in roughly $60,000 a year in room tax money. About $5,000 of that money is put back into town events, such as the fireworks in Gills Rock. The rest is applied to the town’s general fund.

The town is under no obligation to use room tax money to fund tourism promotion, but most of the other municipalities in Door County do use a sizeable portion of the room tax funds they collect to do things such as fund visitor centers or business associations.

At the meeting, there was a solid showing of support, from both residents and board members, for using Liberty Grove’s room tax collection to help put heads in beds.

“If you taxed my service five and a half percent and all of a sudden it was put towards roads, and not towards bringing people towards my door, I’d be standing up and propping a sign every day, hollering at somebody,” said Paul Goodman, who owns Mariner Charter Service in Ellison Bay.

Board Chairman John Lowry also supports the idea of using Liberty Grove’s room tax money for tourism promotion, but he thinks that selling the community on the idea may be tough.

“I have fought this battle for 40 some years, as a member of the [Door County Chamber of Commerce], as president of the chamber, as president of the Ephraim Business Council, as president of the Door County Visitor Bureau, to get the community to recognize how important tourism is,” said Lowry, “and it’s been a terribly uphill battle.”

Thoreson, however, thinks that convincing the residents of Liberty Grove to use the room tax money for tourism promotion shouldn’t be that hard, considering the money comes from tourism.

“That money wasn’t earmarked, but it was strongly suggested that it be used for promotion,” said Thoreson. “So I don’t think you’re going to get that much blowback from the community on using that money for a really good purpose, instead of waiting for something else.”

Door County North officially requested only a small amount of funds at the meeting, roughly $1,000, for the installation and upkeep of a new bathroom and garbage/recycling pick-up at the current visitor center. That request will be referred to the town’s finance committee.

The issue of a new visitor center was tabled, but board members encouraged Door County North to come back and discuss the idea again at the town’s budget meeting this fall.

How much money does your community put back into tourism promotion?

 • The Town of Baileys Harbor received $69,886 in room tax funds. Baileys Harbor gives $25,000 yearly to the Baileys Harbor Community Association.

 • The Town of Gibraltar received $146,988 in room tax funds. The Fish Creek Civic Association has received $45,000 annually from the town.

 • The Village of Egg Harbor received $92,069 in room tax funds. Up until 2012, the Egg Harbor Business Association received $30,000 annually from the village. It now receives $10,000 each year plus additional money to fund new initiatives.

 • The City of Sturgeon Bay received $136,506 in room tax funds. In 2012, the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center received $65,000 from the city.

 • The Town of Ephraim received $126,289 in room tax funds. The Ephraim Business Council annually asks for and has so far received 50 percent of Ephraim’s yearly room tax funds.

 • The Village of Sister Bay received $119,166 in room tax funds. The Sister Bay Advancement Association receives $50,000 from the Village each year.

 Source:  Room tax figures taken from the Door County Tourism Zone’s 2011 Annual Report, other numbers compiled from municipalities and business associations