Q: Who is building the Windmill?
A: The Little Chute Windmill is being built in the Netherlands by fourth-generation millwright Lucas Verbij of Verbij Windmill Design & Construction. Verbij's 140-year-old company builds and restores windmills all over the world.
Q: Who is building the visitor center?
A: We will be bidding the project out in August of 2009 and will select a local contractor to build the visitor center at that time.
Q: When will the Windmill be built?
A: Little Chute Windmill, Inc. ordered the Windmill on December 8, 2008! The Windmill is being built as we speak in Holland and will arrive in pieces during 2010. Construction on the Windmill and Van Asten Visitor Center will begin when we have reached our fundraising goal of $2.8 million (we have raised $2 million to date). Opening is anticipated during 2011.
Q: When is the groundbreaking?
A: Groundbreaking will occur when we have reached our fundraising goal of $2.8 million (we have raised $2 million to date). We will have a specific date in the coming months and the public will be invited to share this exciting event.
Q: When is the Grand Opening?
A: Opening is anticipated during 2011. We will have a specific date once we are under construction and the public will be invited to share this exciting event.
Q: Why are you building a Windmill?
A: See MISSION & GOALS.
Q: How much money do you still need to raise?
A: To date, $2 million has been raised towards our goal of $2.8 million. We still need to raise $800,000 and anticipate being done with fundraising by the end of the year.
Q: What is going to be in the visitor center?
A: The Van Asten Visitor Center will house a museum on the history of Dutch settlement in Little Chute and the surrounding area, which the Little Chute Historical Society will help develop and maintain. The Historical Society will also have workspace in the facility. The Gift Shop will sell a number of items, including bags of flour ground in the Windmill. The Van Dyn Hoven Media Room will be used to screen a film on the history of Dutch settlement in Little Chute and the construction of the windmill. It will also be used for smaller exhibits and gatherings.
Q: What are you going to do about parking?
A: Little Chute Windmill, Inc. is working with businesses and the Village to address this issue. Arrangements have been made for tour bus parking with businesses by Highway 41 that have large parking lots. Tour buses will drop people off at the Windmill and park at these businesses. An agreement has been made that Library and Civic Center parking will not be used by visitors to the Windmill, and signage will be posted to that effect. Public parking behind the 100 block of E. Main St. is under-utilized and will provide some parking for Windmill visitors. If there comes a time when downtown Little Chute is so busy that parking is an issue, we feel this would be a good sign!
Q: Will the Windmill be noisy?
A: No. Traditional Dutch windmills use only the wind to generate power and produce little more than a pleasant "wooshing" sound as the sails turn.
Q: How will you fit the Windmill and visitor center on the property?
A: There is plenty of room to build the Windmill and visitor center on the property in downtown. We will build on 4 lots totaling 160 by 122 feet. The base of the Windmill is 30 feet in diameter and the visitor center footprint will be roughly 40 by 70 feet.
Q: How many volunteers will be required?
A: We anticipate recruiting and training approximately 60-65 volunteers for the following tasks: millers, tour guides and hosts. The recruitment of volunteers will be done by speaking to various local groups, by working with established clubs like the Garden Club of Little Chute, and by placing advertisements in local newsletters and newspapers. Information sheets encouraging people to volunteer will be placed in housing where seniors are concentrated. The Pella, Iowa windmill facility has more than 100 volunteers, and the Director reports that they have more offers of help than they can accept. We do not anticipate any difficulty in enlisting a sufficient number of volunteers. Indeed, preliminary discussions with various Little Chute groups suggest that sufficient numbers of volunteers will be available to provide important assistance in the Little Chute Windmill.
Q: Can the Windmill be used to produce electricity?
A: No. Traditional Dutch windmills use technology that is centuries old and not suitable for producing electricity. The Windmill can however be used as a way to discuss renewable energy and wind turbines. Without Dutch windmill technology, American or Western windmills may not have been used to settle the American West, and wind turbines might not even exist!
