Port Clinton's budget saves planned marina

3/24/2005

PORT CLINTON - Passage of a $13.7 million city budget saved plans to build a municipal marina at the foot of Jefferson Street on Lake Erie, Mayor Tom Brown said yesterday.

The budget, passed by a 5-2 vote Tuesday night by city council, includes $60,000 for engineering work on the proposed $9.5 million, 161-slip marina. Councilmen Terry Witter and Larry Hamann argued that the money earmarked for the marina study should be used instead to fix some of the city's crumbling streets.

Mr. Brown said the city needs the marina to attract visitors to town and bring in revenue to ease an ongoing budget crunch. "Had we not passed that ... and kept that figure in there, that project would have died."

The city is seeking state, federal, and private funds to cover most of the construction costs.