WILLIAMS BAY — A standing-room crowd in Williams Bay Monday night as the Village Board took up plans for a new resort along Geneva Lake. By the end of the night, those plans would be approved.
Some neighbors are concerned about the impact to the small village. One of the residents, Jacquelyn Rose Romando, reached out to TMJ4 and asked us to come to the meeting.
Our Megan Lee went to the meeting and heard from several residents. Some are for the proposed plan, and some are against it.
"I'm against it...thank you,” a Williams Bay resident said.
Dozens of residents signed up to speak during the public comment section of the meeting.
"And I wanted to let you know that I fully support the preserve by Topography,” another resident said.
Residents are split down the middle on whether they want a resort to be built on the former George Williams College campus.
Watch: Williams Bay residents voice concerns and support for potential resort plan
"We don't want to be Lake Geneva. Let them be in Lake Geneva, that is a resort town. Fontana too. We're the quiet part,” resident, Annaliesa Prohuska said.
Prohuska has lived in Williams Bay for decades. She likes the “small-safe neighborhoods.”
“We don't really want an elite resort,” Prohuska added.
Romando who reached out to us at TMJ4 agrees with Prohuska. They were handing out “stop” signs at the start of the meeting.
"Save our community from developers,” Romando said.
The Chicago-based developer, Topography, is hoping to buy the former college campus. In total, it is 137 acres.
The CEO, Liam Krehbiel presented plans for a small inn, nature preserve, retreat center, and an amphitheater.
"What’s this community all about? What's important to this community? And is there an opportunity to create something that we think our guests would enjoy but also is a really good fit for the community.” Krehbiel said.
The developer is calling it “The Preserve.”
"The Preserve will be a good addition to the village and will also retain most of the things that residents value,” a resident said during public comment.
The Village Board and Plan Commission voted to amend the village’s Comprehensive Plan, allowing developers to develop something other than an “institutional campus” on the former college campus.
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