Stevens Point voters approve road project referendum by 31 votes

STEVENS POINT – By a razor-thin margin, city voters on Tuesday approved a referendum that will fundamentally change how the city conducts road projects.

By 31 votes – with 2,757 casting a ballot in favor of the referendum and 2,726 opposed – city residents approved the creation of an ordinance that requires the city to put all road projects that will cost the city more than $1 million to a public vote. The referendum's victory represents a key moment in the city's ongoing planning for rebuilding Business 51.

The referendum grew out of opposition to current plans for the 3-mile strip of road on Church and Division streets that would see the city reduce the number of lanes on the road and add pedestrian and bike accommodations as well as a roundabout near downtown. 

Passage of the referendum does not mean voters defeated partially-approved plans for the road. A separate referendum will need to occur, per the new ordinance, for each part of the project to rebuild Business 51.

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Stevens Point Public Works Director Scott Beduhn previously told the Stevens Point Journal the city will need to put at least one part of the project before voters within the next year in order for the city to stay on track for the project and still be able to use grant and tax increment money.

The referendum was put forward by southside business owners, and supporters said it was a way to hold the city accountable. They said the current plans for Business 51 would have a negative effect on their businesses and that city leaders dismissed their concerns. 

Tuesday's results will give business owners along the corridor who oppose current plans leverage to keep Business 51 four lanes. 

Referendum opponents said the referendum would create delays in completing routine road repairs and hamper economic development. 

Ahead of the election, the Southside Business Association reported taking in about $27,000 and spending about $22,000 on the referendum, according to July 15 campaign finance reports. No other reports were filed with the city ahead of the election.

On Aug. 3, the Portage County Business Council's board of directors encouraged its members to vote against the referendum, saying its passage would lead to road project delays of six months to a year. Such delays, the statement read, would hamper business development in Stevens Point. The council's board took no position on how Church and Division streets should be rebuilt. 

The referendum's language:

Shall the City of Stevens Point adopt the following ordinance: Prior to the start of any physical construction of any municipally financed (in whole or in part) public roadway or transportation project requiring a city capital expenditure of $1,000,000.00 or more, the common council shall submit to the electorate a binding referendum for approval of the project. Failure of the binding referendum shall preclude the city from proceeding with the project. The wording of any referendum shall provide the specific purpose, location, and cost of the project. Nothing in this provision shall be construed to preclude the city from exercising its role in the planning or design of such publicly financed projects.

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Contact reporter Alan Hovorka at 715-345-2252 or ahovorka@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ajhovorka.