Great Lakes Article:

Washington Island faces crossroads
Aging population, high property taxes pose challenges
Paul Brinkmann
Green Bay Press-Gazette
04/28/2002

WASHINGTON ISLAND - They are the future of an island community, and they numbered only three on a recent school day.

Caroline Caldwell, Hannes Johnson and Jesse Hansen made up Washington Island School’s entire kindergarten class as they sorted flash cards with teacher Margaret Foss. Of the six-member class, three students were absent.

And next year’s class will be smaller still. In a community where wealthy retirees increasingly outnumber young families, only four kindergarten students are expected in September. Such numbers could be an aberration for a tiny community, but the median age on the island also is climbing — from 43.3 in 1980 to 48.7 in 2000.

“I’ve been here for 20 years, and I remember kindergarten classes with 13 children,” Foss said a bit ruefully.

The children get lots of attention, a clear benefit. But a shrinking young population points to a limited future. The failure of a school tax-increase referendum April 2 set off rounds of public meetings, calls for budget cuts and renewed debate over the island’s future.

Shoreline property-tax increases, the death of island farms, a slowing economy and scarcity of year-round jobs have changed the character of Washington Island. Its community spirit still thrives, but some think its status as a place to raise a family may be threatened. And the most obvious solution to economic problems — more tourism — may bring only faster change.

A place to live

The ads for Washington Island Ferry Line, the link with the mainland, refer to the 23-square-mile island as a “friendly year-round home” to 660 people and “an enchanting destination for thousands of visitors each year.”

Trouble is, the vast majority of tourists come for just one day in a few short summer months.

The ferry churns back and forth on the 5-mile, 30-minute trip 20 times each day June through August. But in winter, the icy waters are crossed just once a day, severely limiting tourism. Two small landing strips also provide limited air access.

Jerry Mann, owner of the island’s only grocery store, said the current school crisis is just a bump in the road. But he and others quickly acknowledge something must change soon if the island community is to avoid becoming another Martha’s Vineyard, the East Coast island where high-dollar vacation homes have long since replaced the indigenous culture.

“It’s harder and harder for young people to stay here and make a living,” Mann said. “That also makes it difficult for seniors on fixed income to pay their taxes, too.”

Census numbers bear that out: Between 1980 and 2000, the number of 20- to 34-year-olds on the island declined dramatically, from 92 to 45.

New people still are attracted regularly to the island by its sense of community. A major selling point is the small K-12 school district, which has 116 students. Administrator Susan Churchill-Chastan came for those reasons. But she watches as students graduate and move away to look for jobs.

“Many of them never return,” Churchill-Chastan said.

Mixed blessings

In the middle of the island, Main Street features Mann’s Store, a hardware store, several taverns and a few small homes. But on the lakeshore, small resorts and campgrounds have been the rule. Now even they are disappearing amid spacious seasonal homes visited a few times a year by owners from Chicago, Milwaukee, Green Bay and other mainland cities.

“We’re getting zapped up here,” said Russ Jorgenson, 56.

Jorgenson has owned the west-shore Cedar Lodge for 27 years. Business boomed years ago with fishermen seeking salmon. But the salmon catch dwindled.

Instead of staying in his cabins, tourists often opt to rent an entire house vacated by its owners. He said day-trippers aren’t enough to keep large tourism operations running. They also don’t use enough services beyond small lunch spots.

Tourism is the only real industry, having long since replaced commercial fishing, dairy farming and a large potato farm. One of the largest employers, the ferry operation — including a restaurant on the mainland — employs 12 to 15 people in the winter and up to 50 in the summer.

Town Supervisor Ted Hansen and his wife, Charlotte, were born on the island to farming families. They lived in Chicago for most of their adult lives, running the Fish Keg restaurant. Like many others, they returned to their roots for retirement. “Things are much different here,” Ted Hansen said.

But he has accepted that change. The Hansens renovated Charlotte’s family farmstead. Now they help run their Chicago restaurant via fax, e-mail and telephone while enjoying island life. On summer days, “it’s nothing to see 100 bicycles ride past in an hour.”

Islanders are finding ways to cope with the economic issues. One woman works as a nurse at the only doctor’s office once a week. In the winter, she lives in an apartment on the mainland during weekdays to work at a retirement home. Other residents work three jobs during the summer to make up for winter’s doldrums.

Tax troubles

The island’s property values have jumped by more than 50 percent since 1995.

Local real-estate agent Marian Boniface, a former town clerk, said home prices vary but normally never dip below $100,000. The least expensive house on the market this spring is $127,000, for a small four-bedroom inland home. The most expensive house is a shoreline home at almost $500,000.

“We don’t have many starter homes here. There’s little industry or work for a young couple trying to start out,” Boniface said.

The island’s tax rate itself is average for Door County at $12.89 per $1,000 of assessed property value. But rising home values drive up tax bills. Even island natives trying to raise families feel that crunch. The only way to cash in is to sell a home or property.

The Washington Town Board recently hired Appleton-based Accurate Appraisal LLC to perform its assessments. Lee DeGroot, a certified Wisconsin assessor with the firm, said the island trends are similar to other lakeshore communities. But Washington Island is a lot of lakeshore.

“It’s an island that I think is becoming more and more like a weekend getaway thing,” DeGroot said.

The largest home on the island is now under construction at 8,000 square feet — by a Chicago resident. Two other new houses are 6,700 square feet — built by owners from Milwaukee and Connecticut. Those three projects slipped in before a new ordinance requiring specific permission for any residence larger than 5,000 square feet.

All of Door County has experienced such construction, but Washington Island may be more vulnerable to the results of trends toward out-of-town interests.

Grappling with both horns of the island’s issues is Larry Kahlscheuer, president of the district’s School Board and chairman of the town’s Planning and Zoning Committee.

Kahlscheuer believes the decrease in young children is part of a normal cycle. But he also sees the challenges of continuing to run a traditional town. He said large summer homes are welcome in some respects because the owners pay large tax bills.

“But the community that lives here full-time has a real difficult time paying their portion,” he said.

The Town Board has joined other northern Door communities in protesting a significant part of the property tax bill, which is paid to Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. More than two hours from the college’s main campus, few island residents attend the school, but the island sent $325,000 to it last year. Island officials argue that money could buy full-ride scholarships to major universities for each young graduate from the island.

Seeking solutions

Solving the school’s current budget problems may be as simple as making a few cuts to extra-curricular activities and asking the voters to approve a two-year referendum again in September.

The April referendum sought permission to increase the budget by 2 percent over the state-mandated revenue cap. The money, about $120,000 the first year and $70,000 the second, would help close down an old fuel tank, put in a new fuel tank system and cover increases in operational costs.

Having lost by seven votes, the district is now discussing cuts of $92,000 to a $1.2 million budget. Some possible cuts mentioned are business education, athletics, bus service and language programs. The school already combines two grade levels for every teacher in grades one through eight, so staff cuts are difficult to contemplate.

“We just don’t have enough places to cut without impacting academics or athletics,” Churchill-Chastan said.

Mann said people voted “no” as a protest against the tax situation in general. He said they might also have been confused about the details. School supporters are working diligently to explain the issue better, root out those opposed and “take them to the woodshed,” he said.

But the larger issues — property taxes, jobs and an aging population — are more complex. Bright spots on the horizon include plans for a new performing arts center and a renovated library.

“We need to keep our school as good as it is to keep attracting professionals and young families,” Kahlscheuer said.

The town has embarked on a state-mandated “Smart Growth” comprehensive planning process to map out a future for land use and economic priorities. Leaders are considering a better airport, more winter ferry service and further restrictions on home sizes in some areas.

The islanders’ greatest asset in their struggles is the sense of community.

“The spirit here is phenomenal,” Kahlscheuer said. “No matter what kind of disagreement we have with each other that day, if any one of us have a tragedy that night, the other one would be there.”