This Week in Door County News: Shipwrecked Proposal, City Council Discusses Room Tax

By Myles Dannhausen Jr. , Peninsula Pulse – March 1st, 2021

The proposed Dollar General building as presented by representatives of Midwest Property Development. The Egg Harbor Architectural Control Board is requiring the developer to install a duplicate dormer and cupola on the north side to break up the roofline of the 9,100-square-foot building.

On Tuesday, the Egg Harbor Plan Commission will resume deliberations about the proposed expansion of Shipwrecked Brew Pub. The brewery and restaurant is aiming to create what may be Door County’s largest restaurant, with nearly 400 seats – and just 22 parking spaces. The plan commission met for more than six hours last week before pausing. For more on the project and local opposition to its scope, listen to Wednesday’s episode of the Door County Pulse Podcast here>>

City Council

The Sturgeon Bay Common Council meets Tuesday night. On the agenda is consideration of the room tax increase, a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Ice Age Trail Alliance, and an exploratory proposal from Peter and Jennifer Gentry for Redevelopment Site B on the city’s West Waterfront. See the full agenda packet here>>

Room Tax

And speaking of room tax, Myles Dannhausen Jr. and David Eliot went deep into how room tax came to the county, how it works, and deep into why Eliot is arguing that it’s time to raise it on the Door County Pulse Podcast Friday, and Jackson Parr looked into a report commissioned by the Door County Tourism Zone that determined that raising room tax would not deter visitors.

Dollar General

The Town of Egg Harbor met last week to hear from residents about the proposed Dollar General Store on the corner of Hillside Road and Highway 42, which met overwhelming opposition from those who attended via Zoom. Deb Fitzgerald has the latest on that story here>>

Pulse Honored in Newspaper Awards

And finally, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest awards were announced Feb. 19, and the Peninsula Pulse took home awards in 5 of the 8 entered. Brett Kosmider won second place for Spot News Photo for his image that appeared on the July 10 cover of the Pulse, and 2nd for Artistic Photo for a drone photo of a ship cutting through the ice in Sturgeon Bay. Ryan Miller, Jacob Dannhausen-Brun, Bret Kosmider and David Eliot combined to win second place for Best Front Page; Andrew Kleidon, Celeste Benzschawel, Sam Kersebet won an honorable mention for Best Video for their video from aboard the Mobile Bay Cutter, and Myles Dannhausen Jr. won first place for General News Story for his story, “A Child Care Conundrum,” about the closure of the Barker Child Development Center last summer.. This was the first year the Peninsula Pulse was eligible for the awards.