Four of five Manitowoc referenda pass

Four City of Manitowoc advisory referenda about borrowing money for construction projects passed Tuesday, but a referendum about spending money on a municipal swimming pool failed.

The votes:

• Bonding $2.66 million for improving streets and sidewalks: 3,084 Yes, No 705.
• Bonding $1.525 million for storm sewer extensions and improvements: 3,133 Yes, 787 No.
• Bonding $2.06 million for sanitary sewer extensions and improvements: 2,985 Yes, 787 No.
• Bonding $910,000 for community improvement projects: 2,692 Yes, 1,051 No.
• Spending $2 million toward the cost of an aquatic center: 1,862 Yes, 1,949 No.

“I’m really thrilled with the turnout for the vote, and even more so about the fact that citizens still trust local government,” Mayor Kevin Crawford told the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter. “That is what it was about — telling the story and getting the message out about how important it was to do these major projects this year because otherwise doing them next year would be more expensive.”

The referenda were the initiative of Arlene Knauer, 90, who believes the city should pay for street projects with special assessments on properties on those streets, and should fund sewer and water projects through sewer and water rates.

“People voted and they decided,” she told the Milwaukee Daily Reporter. “So we’ll add to our debt and we’ll add to our interest, but in this country the majority rules.”

The aquatic center vote was to use public funds to supplement the $1.7 million pledged from donations to the aquatic center. The president of the Friends of the Aquatic Center Board, Amy Fricke-Wiegel, told the Daily Reporter that Manitowoc’s city council should ignore the advisory vote: “I think the city council should make their own decisions. This is a kick in the face to people who have been volunteering for this community.”

One effect of the referenda may be that the price tag on the projects will increase. Valerie Mellon, the city’s director of public works, will be talking to the low bidders on five contracts to see if they will do the projects for the prices they submitted in bidding in February.