A meeting is set for next Monday in Three Lakes inviting the community to plan for a weekend meeting next year to design what the community will look like.
Three Lakes Community Foundation spokesperson John Stauner says the Foundation hosted community conversations beginning in 2015, then held a community forum in 2018 to talk about the future of the community.
He says while those brainstorming sessions were helpful, he says there was a call to put the ideas into solutions...
"...We took this back to Myles Alexander at UW-Extension in Oneida county and said, 'Myles, this is where we're at, where do we go from here?'. He suggested a relatively new program called Design Wisconsin. This is modeled after a a very successful program in Minnesota with Extension..."
About 20 U-W Extension professionals would come to Three Lakes for one weekend in September, 2020. The professionals would work with business development, housing or several other topic areas.
Stauner says the staff looks at the community and there's a community meeting and discuss issues and ways to implement solutions...
"...The goal of the whole process is to develop a shared vision for our community here in Three Lakes and strategies to implement that vision..."
Stauner says the two major fires last winter in downtown Three Lakes made it apparent that action is needed. A kick-off event is set for Monday, August 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Reiter Center.
Stauner says if the Design Wisconsin process is to work, it needs the whole community to participate, including businesses, town government, schools, local organizations, churches and the general public.