Sister Bay To Review Waterfront Park Master Plan: Marina to pay for Johnson property

The Village of Sister Bay has asked the Plan Commission to review changes to the master plan for Waterfront Park. When the plan was conceived in 2007-08, it called for the eventual purchase and clearing of all the buildings on the village waterfront, including the post office, village hall, and Sister Bay Café.

Last month the village decided not to purchase the café.

Work continues at the Sister Bay Marina.

“What would the village truly gain by purchasing the café?” Denise Bhirdo said. “We already own the waterfront, and adding more green space wasn’t enough to justify the price.”

The post office lease runs through 2016, and the village has decided to invest in $50,000 worth of upgrades to the village hall that many residents pushed the village to preserve. The upgrades will be for acoustics and adding air conditioning.

Bhirdo said the Plan Commission will likely review the Waterfront Park Master Plan in April, when there will be opportunities for citizens to share opinions about the changes.

The village announced that the purchase of the Al Johnson’s Butik property will be funded entirely by marina revenues. The purchase included a boathouse and 26 marina slips that will generate the revenue to cover the payments on the property, Bhirdo said.