The Sturgeon Bay Common Council heard from nine people for over 30 minutes during the public comments Tuesday on the Granary Project before going into the business part of its meeting.  Seven speakers spoke in support of the Granary and extending the development agreement, while two people said they were not opposed to the project but that it has taken too long, and the city should not extend the agreement.

The last extension of the development agreement between the City of Sturgeon Bay and the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society was to have the Teweles & Brandeis Granary restored and “substantially completed” by April of 2023.

Sturgeon Bay Historical Society Foundation President Laurel Hauser updated the council and said that the visible construction work on the Granary should begin in September this year with plans to have the work completed by the end of 2024.

The Sturgeon Bay Common Council convened in a closed session later in the meeting to address the development agreement extension with the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society but did not take any action afterward.

 In agenda items, the council approved the second reading of the ordinance to rezone property located on Colorado Street and North 6th Avenue from R-1 and R-2 Single Family Residential to a Planned Unit Development (PUD).  

In the final piece of business, the Sturgeon Bay Common Council approved the NERR Advisory Committee’s  26-page prospectus document aimed at bolstering the city’s bid to attract the National Estuarine Research Reserve visitor center to be built on the waterfront.  Sturgeon Bay is competing with Green Bay and Marinette as a possible location for a visitor center for the Green Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.