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Egg Harbor Awaits Word on Marina Permits

The Village of Egg Harbor’s effort to reconstruct its public marina remains on hold, awaiting word from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on the review of the permits the village originally received last July.

“It’s still a bugger of a project,” said Village Administrator Josh Van Lieshout.

The permits were stayed after complaints were brought forward about the issuing process by neighboring property owners. The village will find out whether the DNR will issue the necessary permits by Dec. 4, but that won’t be a green light.

Since the village electorate voted in favor of a referendum question on the Nov. 4 ballot that requires all capitol improvement projects costing over $1 million be submitted to the electors for approval, the reconstruction will have to go to referendum. Van Lieshout said the question would likely be placed on the Feb. 17 primary ballot.

Had the project not been stayed, it would not have been subject to the new rule. Van Lieshout said the board has yet to decide what questions to ask in a referendum.

The administrator believes it’s still possible to pull off a 2010 opening for the new marina, but only if work begins by July of 2009.

As for the future impact of the new spending rule, Van Lieshout said it will not come into play very often.

“For most projects it won’t mean anything,” he said. “Our infrastructure is relatively new and in good repair. What it does mean is now the electorate has more of a say in the fiduciary decisions of the board,” in the case of larger projects like the marina.