• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Website shares Fontana referendum details

Photo

Photo by Submitted rendering from architect

Lakefront Activity Center proposal in Fontana, interior view

Photo

Photo by Submitted rendering from architect

Lakefront Activity Center proposal in Fontana, exterior view

Photo

Photo by Submitted rendering from architect

An image/rendering of Lake Street reconstruction portion of Lakefront building proposal.

FONTANA — The village of Fontana has launched a new website to give residents information about three proposed lakefront projects before people cast their votes in September.

Residents are being asked to approve a referendum to spend $2.8 million in tax incremental finance money on three projects along the Fontana lakefront.

The proposed lakefront activity center, the reconfiguration of the lakefront parking lot and the reconstruction of Lake Street will be combined into one question. The question will be on the ballot Sept. 14.

The website, lakefrontbuilding.com, includes information about the lakefront building from its beginnings as the Palmer Boat Company factory and showroom to its present days as the Lake Geneva Marine Company. The site contains information and pictures of the proposed projects and a primer on tax incremental financing.

“We put just about everything we could think of on there,” said Bill Turner, chairman of the Fontana Community Development Authority. “There’s very little we didn’t put on there. There’s just so much information in terms of pictures, designs, documents … that we felt a website would be the best way to do that.”

State statutes prohibit the village from advocating for or against the referendum. State law says government resources may be used only to disseminate information about the subject of a referendum and the consequences of its passage or defeat.

“We’re not trying to sell it one way or another,” said Cindy Wilson, a Community Development Authority member. “We have a very informed and intelligent population, but decisions are better made when you have all the information at your disposal.

“We worked very hard to make (the website) just make sense, be as intuitive as possible. … Anything anyone would want to know can be found on that website.”

The village plans to spend about $5,000 informing the community through the website, a mailer and an open house.

The Sept. 14 referendum seeks approval to spend $2.8 million on three projects:

-- The proposed lakefront activity center at 454 Lake St. The one-story, 5,500-square-foot facility would include a multipurpose meeting room with kitchenette and storage facilities, a non-motorized equipment rental operation and a coffee shop. It also would include an outdoor gathering space, such as a patio.

Civic, business and private groups could use the meeting space for events. Residents and visitors could rent canoes, kayaks or paddleboards, and get a cup of coffee and a snack in the café.

-- The reconfiguration of the lakefront parking lot. The lot would be changed to address stormwater problems and add more green space. The number of spaces would not change much.

-- The reconstruction of Lake Street. The street is in bad shape and needs to be rebuilt. The project includes replacing aging utilities buried under the street and installing new energy-efficient streetlights.