Petition that aims to protect dam has the votes it needs

A petition for direct legislation that seeks to force a public vote on any future decision about razing Grafton’s historic Bridge Street Dam was certified on Monday, Village Administrator Tim Wellnitz said.

The certification means that when the Village Board meets on Monday, Sept. 8, trustees will have a decision to make — whether to approve the petition’s proposed ordinance requiring a public, binding vote before the village can expend public funds or take any action to implement the removal of any village-owned dam or to hold a referendum on the proposed ordinance.

Wellnitz said 1,633 of the 1,672 signatures submitted were verified by Village Clerk Kaity Olsen.

To move the issue before the Village Board, 1,269 signatures were required, he said.

That number represents 15% of the votes cast in the village during the last gubernatorial election.

The proposed ordinance was submitted to the village on Aug. 3, the same day the Village Board held a public hearing on the question of whether to repair or raze the Bridge Street Dam, which failed in May.

“If a permanent change is going to be made to our downtown and river ecosystem, the decision should be made by the entire community at the ballot box, not by a unilateral, simple majority vote of the Village Board, some of whom could have a hidden or personal agenda,” Bill Harbeck, a spokesman for the group that circulated the petition, said at the time.

“The Bridge Street Dam has defined and been the centerpiece of Grafton’s downtown since the mid-1800s. Removing it would significantly diminish the upstream waterway, impact a thriving wildlife habitat and eliminate a cherished recreational asset used daily for kayaking, canoeing, fishing and winter sports like cross-country skiing and ice skating by Veterans Park.

“We aren’t just protecting a structure; we are protecting the cultural heart of our community,” Harbeck added.