I want to voice my discontent with the solo decision by the village president of not placing on the August board meeting agenda the request to rescind slow, no-wake hours from noon Friday to midnight Friday by citizens, a village trustee and the Ordinance Committee. I do not view this issue as only being about how fast boats travel in Fremont on Friday afternoons; it is about maintaining businesses in the downtown district.
I understand the slow, no-wake advisory referendum passed by the village but what about waterfront business owners who do not live in the village or second home owners who are not allowed a vote? Many of the business owners came to the ordinance meeting and now two board meetings stating it is hurting their bottom lines. When it affects someone’s livelihood, there should be a very good reason for change. The business owners and even the village president stated boat traffic is down on Friday nights. In my opinion, stated reasons for the change in hours do not offset the loss of business. Safety and congestion issues are only on a very few select holiday Fridays. I honestly can’t remember the last accident in the village limits. Since there has been limited enforcement, all it has done is hurt the businesses’ Friday night boating crowd.
I ran to keep Fremont a village and to revitalize the downtown – not to have mainly condos or homes along the river instead of a business district. Since I’ve been on the board, it seems all we talk about are noise complaints by a small minority and no-wake hours. Both are long-time village “issues” that can affect the current business district. With the short boating and tourist season, we should be doing all we can to keep the district viable. Why would anyone invest in the village with actions taken by some board members? Fremont needs to maintain a boater-friendly reputation and work with neighboring municipalities to utilize the wonderful waterway we enjoy.
Per Dobbe
Fremont Village Trustee