Door County News: Gills Rock Marina Update

• The Feb. 24 meeting of the Gills Rock Harbor of Refuge (GRHOR) ad-hoc committee was canceled. There are currently no committee meetings scheduled, as ad-hoc committee chairman Geoff Gialdini is trying to schedule it so a representative from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources can attend.

• The marina project cannot move forward until the land is purchased, and any purchase of buildings or structures by the town must be authorized by a vote of qualified electors at a town meeting. Clerk/Administrator Bud Kalms said a qualified elector is defined as one who has resided within the town for 10 days prior to the meeting.

If the project moves forward, there would not be a vote on the marina project itself, only on the land acquisition. Though several town board members and candidates for board have said they would take the project to referendum before proceeding, Kalms said a referendum would be advisory only, not binding.

• The operating estimate for the cost of the project is at least $10.35 million, not including property acquisition. The assessed value of the parcels to be purchased is $3,168,100, but Gialdini estimated the purchase price could be closer to $3.5 million. The price tag does not include funding for the proposed Door County Maritime Museum building.

• If the Door County Maritime Museum chooses to build a new museum at the marina site, it will have to raise funds to pay for it. Gialdini said the town submitted a request for funding from the federal economic stimulus plan, but the town will not provide funding for the museum.

• The GRHOR ad-hoc committee is made up of Geoff Gialdini, Frank Weber, Jim Creed, Ray DiIulio and Gary Farber.

• More information on the history of the project and next steps is available on the Liberty Grove town Web site at http://www.libertygrove.org.