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Egg Harbor Says Yes

The second time proved to be the charm for Egg Harbor’s embattled marina reconstruction referendum. Residents voted in favor of a marina reconstruction plan capped at $6.5 million by a tally of 104 – 75 July 28.

The village board hopes to move forward on construction quickly to have the marina open for as much of the 2010 boating season as possible.

The marina has been in the works for more than three years, with more than its share of starts, stops, and arguments.

The board originally voted to move ahead with a $7.9 million marina reconstruction plan in July 2008, but citizens who felt the plan was too costly, harmful to the property rights of neighbors, and poorly designed raised objections.

The Peninsula Shores Condominium Association sent a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources asking it to reconsider its approval of the plan in September. The DNR agreed and put a stay on the project.

The village altered the plan and regained DNR approval in December, but by then a measure had passed in the November election mandating that any capital improvement project costing over $1 million be approved by voters in a referendum. That measure passed, and put a hold on the marina project, forcing the village to get voter approval before starting construction.

In May, the village asked voters to approve a project capped at $6.6 million, but voters rejected the measure in an 87 – 81 vote. In the two months since, the village board clashed with citizens who came up with a scaled-down plan of their own, but eventually made enough concessions to gain the support of enough voters to get its plan passed.