Oak Harbor should not be penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to a proposal to build a community meeting room in the new sewage treatment plant, which is destined to become the biggest investment the city has ever made.

The community has a tendency to dream big, make big plans and then turn miserly when the time comes to actually invest.

In 1971, George Churchill was president of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce when he proposed building a convention center downtown to revitalize the economy. Since that time, study after study has identified the need for a waterfront conference-style facility in the city.

Current Chamber Director Christine Cribb said she regularly hears from groups that come looking for a place to hold a conference, but they end up going elsewhere because the right kind of facility isn’t available in Oak Harbor.

Many people were skeptical when the council and mayor chose to build the sewage treatment plant on Pioneer Way in a spot that protrudes into Windjammer Park. City leaders argued that it could be a catalyst for economic revitalization downtown. The city showed pretty drawings of a two-story building with a conference room on top, which helped convince some people that the project could actually improve the park.

The dream of turning the former Whidbey Island Bank building — which the city purchased — into a combined library and City Hall were dashed when the council decided it needs to raze the aging building for parking.

Then it looked like the council was turning its back on the earlier proposal for a community room. The $2.4-million price was too high and 4,000-square-foot space too small.

Oak Harbor Councilman Joel Servatius turned the tide. He spoke passionately and convinced his colleagues that it may not be too late to increase the building to a size that makes sense.

The council instructed the contractors on the project to create new drawings of a building with a room large enough to hold at least 250 people and come up with an estimate for the cost.

Council members will inevitably hear from folks who think it a waste of money or suggest there’s a better place for a conference center.

But the city has been talking about a conference center for more than 40 years, and the only thing officials have to show for it is a bunch of fancy studies on a shelf.

It’s time to bring the vision for a waterfront meeting place to life or forever have regrets about what should have been.