News Release to Local Governments
Green Tier Legacy Communities (GTLC) are local Wisconsin government leaders preparing for the future and building sustainable and resilient communities. The GTLC network advances sustainable practices to stretch local government resources. Through collaboration, communities are able to move further, faster, toward reaching their sustainability goals. There is no cost to become a member of GTLC.
The Village of Weston signed on to the GTLC charter, back on December 1, 2010. We joined in the charter with the cities of Appleton, Bayfield, Fitchburg, and Middleton as the first five communities to join the charter. Weston has experienced the value GTLC brings to those in the network and has chosen to remain an active member. An example of the value we have experienced, back in 2016, the Village received a grant from the State Energy Office to replace all Village-owned street lights. This grant covered about 75% of the total $110,000 costs to replace about 400 LED fixtures, which replaced existing High-Pressure Sodium fixtures. This available grant was something we learned about through GTLC.
GTLC meets quarterly, where twice per year the meetings are remote and twice per year, the meetings are held at a “host” community facility. This host community gives a presentation about their community and highlights sustainable projects they are working on. Educational and informative presentations are then given by representatives of State agencies and nongovernmental organizations. Each meeting, members give a review of sustainable projects they are working on. In many cases, other members pick up on key topics/issues, and can network with other members to learn from them on their accomplishments and prevent them from re-creating the wheel.
GTLC members have direct access to DNR non-regulatory staff that provide technical assistance and act as a liaison for interactions between the community and the department. Other nongovernmental organization partners provide technical assistance to participating communities.
2020 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Green Tier Legacy Communities charter signing. Since the charter’s signing in 2010, the network has grown from 5 pilot communities, to 29 cities, villages, towns and counties. The charter now works with all forms of local government and over 1,000,000 Wisconsinites reside in Legacy Communities.
If you are interested in learning more, or becoming a member, please contact DNR Sustainability and Business Support Staff, Will Erikson – 608-267-3763, william.erikson@wisconsin.gov. You can also visit the GTLC website: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/GreenTier/Participants/CharterPages/LegacyCommunities.html