The Suttons Bay Village Council approved the 2024 village marina master plan following a public hearing at their meeting Monday night. According to documents presented to the village council by village Manager Rob Larrea, the new master plan will make the village eligible to pursue granting opportunities in the future.
In his staff comments to the council, Larrea said they plan to use grant funds to reconfigure/ replace the dockage from the old boat launch to the west; replace the pedestrian bridge; combine functions of the two huts into one, to be constructed where the eastern gas hut is located; replace/upgrade the parking lot and marina bath house; and install wave attenuator.
“This is the vision to keep us moving forward, so our support of this will allow them to apply for the grants, allow us to move forward. It could take quite a while to implement this. There’s a lot of money to be spent and raised, which we don’t have right now,” village President Steve Lutke said. “I also support this to let this vision continue to come to fruition.”
The master plan was passed with unanimous support from the council, with several councilmembers lauding praises for the village harbormaster, Edie Aylsworth. The draft master plan can be viewed on suttonsbayvillage. org/marina.asp.
In other business related to marina, the village council supported the submission of a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant application for the nonmotorized pedestrian bridge, which is identified for improvement in the new 2024 marina master plan and in their parks and recreation plan. Larrea said that the grant request was for $360,000, with the village to provide a 50% match if approved.
The village council also approved the appointment of Fred Sitkins, executive director of the Inland Seas Education Association, to the village’s downtown development authority for two years, effective immediately.
Last month, the council heard a petition from Strattons Way residents to change the traffic flow on their street from two way to one way, over concerns about the narrowness of the road causing incidents for a family with two young daughters who recently moved in. The residents are now advocating for a “do not enter” sign facing north. The village council will consider approving this following review by the department of public works.
