The council chamber was full by the time the final vote began.
I sat in the second row with Margaret on one side and a folded copy of Dad's donor form in my bag. The town clerk had asked me to provide it for the record. I had also brought the complete audio file, but the council did not ask to hear it again.
Northstar had revised its plan. The new proposal kept a public walkway along the eastern side of the pier, set aside the old ticket booth for a community exhibit, and included a maintenance fund for ten years. The hotel was smaller. The marina still took up most of the waterfront.
A local group had submitted a competing plan for a public repair grant, but it depended on state funding that had not been approved. The grant application could take a year. The pier had structural problem
