Parks Committee Denies Tree-Removal Request

The Sister Bay Parks Committee issued a resounding “no” Monday to a request made by David Van Gemert on behalf of Marina View Condominium owners to remove four trees from Waterfront Park. Van Gemert asked the village to remove four trees that line the road in front of the marina and appear in the view of the Marina View Condominiums located across the street. 

Parks Committee member Sharon Doersching was incensed by the request and suggested sarcastically that if the trees were intruding on water views, “perhaps all the boats in the marina are obstructing views as well, so we could get all of the boats out of the marina, too.”

Fellow committee member Denise Bhirdo said she was surprised the request made it onto the agenda. The village received several letters opposing the removal, and Bhirdo said she was deluged with text messages, letters and visits to the gas station she owns across from the marina. 

“This is a village-owned park, paid for by our taxpayers for everyone’s enjoyment,” Bhirdo said. 

Community Compost Site Proposed

The Parks Committee expressed support for the idea of a community compost site brought forth by David LaLuzerne of the Door County Community Compost Initiative. He asked the village to consider using a small portion of the Wiltse property it acquired adjacent to the sports complex for the site. 

The Village of Egg Harbor began a similar site this year. Community members and businesses can dump compost, and the village began picking up food waste from some local restaurants. LaLuzerne said his group would create a survey to gauge interest from residents and restaurant owners. The site would require less than a quarter acre of land. 

The committee referred the issue to its Green Tier Committee for review. 

4-way Stop Requested at Flint Ridge and Orchard Road

The committee is continuing to review a request to make the intersection at Flint Ridge and Orchard Road into a four-way stop. Both Bhirdo and Village President Rob Zoschke said the increasing requests for improvements and safety measures on the village’s rural roads beg for a larger discussion. 

“I have a general comment about roads,” Bhirdo said. “It’s such a bigger issue, and we’re kind of piecemealing it. Should we talk about the village’s responsibility and what we can and can’t do? I think it’s a bigger conversation to have.”

Zoschke agreed. 

“These issues all stem from the amount of development downtown and relating to the increasing congestion from tourism. If we’re going to exponentially develop, we’re going to have to consider additional traffic in the rural areas.”

No decision was made about the intersection because it’s shared with the Town of Liberty Grove.