This web site has been launched as a primary point of contact for the townspeople and friends of Three Lakes, Wisconsin. The main forms of on-line communications are this forwardthreelakes.com web site, and the Forward Three Lakes, WI Facebook page. They inform the community with upcoming events, background information and volunteer opportunities.
Working together as a unified community we can build a secure future for those who live, work and play in and around Three Lakes.
These efforts come after experiencing two devastating fires, the Oneida Village Inn and the Three Lakes Diner in early 2019. Now we are experiencing the recent and on-going effects of the pandemic known as COVID-19. Other issues are equally important to address.
After learning of the UW-Extension’s Design Wisconsin Team (DWT), town leaders sought out the team for its know-how and experience. Based on their proven track record we have asked the DWT to help us determine short, medium and long term goals for the downtown and community as a whole.
There are several Internet links to learn more about the UW-Extension’s DWT including efforts in other rural Wisconsin towns. Other important information is shared about key economic development factors.
A key to DWT’s success is community involvement throughout the process. In order for their team to arrive at the most appropriate steps forward, they need widespread consensus on the most important town issues.
Typically, this whole process follows plenty local preparation to give the design team in-depth background about the community and its hopes. It concludes with a three day visit by approximately 20 professionals to the town. They get to see the town, stay in people’s homes, hear local presentations, brainstorm together with the community at a town dinner and share outcomes with short, medium and long-term steps forward.
As it turns out, 2020 is not a typical year. We had been planning for the visit to take place in the middle of September in person. That will not happen. Instead, through a whole lot of thinking and conversations, the mutual idea of the DWT and community event planners was to go virtual. We just couldn’t pass up this immediate opportunity for a key hand up to our community as it struggles on several fronts in these most difficult times. Certainly, there are pluses and minuses to this major modification, to go virtual.
We urge everyone to take part in this unified effort now known as Forward Three Lakes. There is a place for all and a role for all. Together the future is only brighter for ourselves, our loved ones and those who will benefit in the years and decades ahead.