You may be able to enjoy the Potawatomi State Park Observation Tower by June 2026 if Governor Tony Evers’ State of Wisconsin Capital Budget is approved by the State Building Commission and the Joint Finance Committee.

The $3.8 billion in recommended investments in Evers’ capital budget specifically names three Door County projects to be considered by the State Building Commission on March 23rd.

The governor has budgeted just over $6 million to rehabilitate the current Potawatomi State Park Observation Tower and build a helical ramp to make it more handicap accessible. According to the DNR, 257 of the 488 respondents to a January survey favored repairing or restoring the tower and 341 of them preferred the helical ramp structure over the linear ramp used at Eagle Tower inside Peninsula State Park. Local state officials and groups oppose the ramp structure, advocating for restoring just the tower to save money and to provide immediate relief to the observation tower that is on both the National and State Registers of Historic Places. The Sturgeon Bay Historical Society and the Potawatomi Park Alliance pushed a second survey that included a “restore only” option.

Peninsula State Park could also receive funding for an upgrade of a new public entrance visitor station. The $6 million replacement structure would include office space for staff, a visitor common area, and space for education and merchandise. Door County’s state parks will also receive approximately $8.8 million in additional money for projects like the break wall and pier replacement at the Rock Island State Park’s historic boat house.

The budget proposal also calls for $1 million to assist the Peninsula Players Theatre to build new dormitories on its campus.

You can look through the entire 2023-2025 capital budget request by clicking on this link. The State Building Commission counts State Senator Andre Jacque among its members.