You will not be able to have your fish weighed in city parks during fishing tournaments if the Sturgeon Bay Common Council approves the recommendation on Tuesday.
Last June, the city modified its rules to encourage weigh-on-the-water formats to be used for fishing tournaments, especially if they took place during the early parts of the season when some species of fish are spawning. According to a memo from City Administrator Josh VanLieshout, some of the language in the new policy was interpreted as regulating fishing, which municipalities are not allowed to do. The city and the Department of Natural Resources collaborated to update the policy to omit references to spawning and fishing activities and focus more on what occurs on dry land. Because of tournaments already booked on consecutive weekends in May, the revised policy will not go into effect until next year. Tuesday’s meeting, which will take place inside Sturgeon Bay City Hall at 6 p.m., will be the first for District 2 alderperson Matthew Huston, who defeated incumbent Dennis Statz earlier this month in the spring election. The council will also weigh in on new pricing for the workforce housing built in the Geneva Ridge development and discuss a special levy assessment for sidewalk installation on and near Hudson Avenue.