Fond du Lac County made headlines in Wisconsin for its unique approach to the county’s workforce shortage: namely, the Fond du Lac County Worker Relocation Incentive Program, in which paid employees who take jobs in the county and move there can receive up to $15,000 in incentives.
The program continues to draw interest, but another shortage — a lack of housing — is slowing it down.
“Several applications are on hold because the people have not been able to find housing inside the county,” says Sadie Howell, president and CEO of Envision Greater Fond du Lac, which partners on the program with Fond du Lac County and Fond du Lac County Capital Resources. “We are still getting interest from job applicants.”
Howell understands if there is not enough housing, it will be a challenge for employers to attract workers from outside of the area. “Not enough housing, across the board, is a problem in the county. Both larger areas like Fond du Lac and some of the smaller communities are seeing it,” she says.
The city of Fond du Lac contracted with Camoin Associates to commission a housing study and action plan, which it hopes to receive in September, says City Manager Joe Moore. From there, the city can look at options on how to create more housing opportunities in the city.
“In our last two budget cycles, [the city] identified more housing as a strategic priority,” Moore says. “We know this isn’t a challenge unique to Fond du Lac and [is one] other communities are dealing with, but we know not enough housing hurts our employers.”
While the city waits to see the report results, it has launched two separate initiatives to generate additional housing. There’s an available parcel of land adjacent to a manufacturing site that could be used for multifamily housing. The city created a TIF district for the property and is preparing the site for redevelopment.
Moore says the city has set $6 million aside for a possible public-private project.
On the city’s east side off State 151, the city plans to invest $4.5 million to bring utilities to land identified as a city growth area for a future housing development.
“Developers have told us without utilities, bringing housing to the area would not be cost effective, which is why nothing has happened. With utilities to that area, we hope it jumpstarts building,” Moore says. “Between those two projects, we are planning to invest $10 million to bring more housing to Fond du Lac.”
Getting connected
A rural county with about 15,590 residents, Marquette County surprisingly has wider broadband access than some larger counties in the region. The county’s broadband initiatives are integral to its economic development, says Keri Solis, Marquette County economic development and tourism coordinator.
“With remote work growing, living in a place like Marquette County with its strong broadband connectivity is becoming more of a possibility for many,” she says. “We have had people move here or who have secondary residences here and are staying longer than just the weekend.”
Solis says stores report higher traffic counts during the week since more people are around.
“It began during COVID-19, as more people came here since they were able to work remotely. And many decided to stay,” she says. “I’ve heard this anecdotally from campground owners, store owners and [it] was also backed by cell phone tracking data showing that people were spending more time here.”
Marquette County’s broadband initiative has been carefully thought out, getting a boost when the county put $1.7 million in ARPA funding toward broadband expansion. An estimated 70% of the county has access to broadband internet. By the end of next year, that number will reach 90% — which Solis called “huge” in a county with just one stoplight. Union Telephone received a grant to bring high-speed internet to 265 homes and four businesses in the county this year, while Charter looks to expand its coverage in the county in 2025.
“The key objection that part-time residents listed as why they don’t relocate is lack of high-speed internet. My hope is with the current planned expansions we will be able to convert those that still do not have it to permanent residents and we can draw more people to the parts of the county that already have high-speed internet,” Solis says.
Two of the county’s campgrounds have high-speed access, which helps some seasonal residents stay longer, she adds. Marquette County has about 3,000 campsites.
“I’m a big believer in broadband equity and bringing access to as many people as possible,” Solis says.
Solis is now pairing her marketing and tourism campaigns.
“The first goal is to attract people to the area for a visit. The second is making them aware of the availability of high-speed internet for remote work and local jobs available for their spouse if they do in-person work,” she says. “We have a great place to live here, and that’s what attracts people. It’s beautiful and peaceful.”
