A proposal to spend $60,000 on a partnership with the “Uniquely Wisconsin” program for encouraging increased tourism in Pierce County received first-reading consideration Aug. 27 by the Pierce County Board of Supervisors.

The board agreed to waive first reading of the proposal, which will come before the board on Sept. 24 for second reading and consideration of final approval. Funding would come from undesignated American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Uniquely Wisconsin is an Emmy-nominated documentary series produced by Discover Wisconsin that tells stories about Wisconsinites and their communities.

"We’ve got a lot of great places to visit in the county,” County Administrative Coordinator Jason Matthys told the board.

Supervisor Kris Sampson noted “there’s a lot of opportunity” to leverage higher tourism for economic development.

With the funding, Uniquely Wisconsin’s Pierce County effort would include production of three short-form videos, one 60-second social media video for use on county pages, a five-minute portion of a broadcast documentary across Discover Wisconsin’s regional television network, b-roll footage, a dedicated “The Cabin” podcast for Pierce County, a signup contest on Discover Wisconsin’s social media, and blogs, e-newsletters and social media impressions to promote the series.

In other action, the board gave first reading consideration to an advisory resolution, requested by the Wisconsin Counties Association, urging the state to increase support for community-based care and crisis mental health services. The board agreed to waive first reading of the resolution, which will come before the board on Sept. 24 for second reading and consideration of final approval.

Supervisor Michael Kahlow, chairman of the Human Services Board, said, “We’re spending a significant amount of money for placement costs for people in mental health crisis,” totaling well over $1 million per year, and “those costs are going up.”

To send a person in crisis to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, a 24-hour psychiatric hospital near Oshkosh, can cost $1,500 per night, Kahlow said. “It doesn’t take much for it to start adding up,” he added.

The resolution asks the state to include funds in the 2025-2027 biennial budget to cover the full non-federal share of medical assistance community support program (CSP) and crisis services.

The resolution notes that counties cover the costs of mental health services for people not eligible for Medicaid. It states, “counties are limited in their capacity to use tax levy revenue due to state levy limits, so the lack of Community Aids increases combined with strict property tax controls makes it difficult for counties to maintain Crisis and CSP services.”