How could a development effort 20 years in the making, one with major implications for a small town, reach what appears to be an anticlimactic ending? Yet that seems to be case in Preston. Townspeople will decide in a referendum Tuesday whether to support a proposal by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority to redevelop the 388-acre property that once served as the campus for Norwich Hospital.

Maybe it’s because residents are generally satisfied with a Mohegan plan that has generated no controversy or organized opposition. Or perhaps the public has simply grown weary of failed plans and baseless speculation about the property, and so tuned out.

Whatever the reason, Preston residents don’t seem very engaged in a proposal that would dwarf any prior projects in the rural town. Crowds at two informational meetings were relatively small and only 40 people showed up at the town meeting that set Tuesday’s vote. And they had no questions!

The last time the townspeople took a similar vote was in May 2006, when they were asked to approve a massive movie studio/theme park development called Utopia. Seventy percent of eligible voters showed up and approved the measure, a turnout more typical of a presidential election.

It did not end well. After the Utopia developers failed to meet several stipulations in the development deal, the town terminated the agreement. It was an ugly, litigious breakup.

While the turnout Tuesday — voting goes from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Town Hall — is not likely come near that 2006 vote, it is a vitally important decision and voters should take the opportunity to weigh in.

The strategy of the MTGA is clear. Its Mohegan Sun Casino, located across the Thames River from the Preston property, is facing growing casino competition in neighboring states. Its plans for the Preston property, renamed and marketed by the town as Preston Riverwalk, is to diversify its entertainment offerings as Mohegan Sun becomes a resort with attractions that go well beyond gaming.

The tribal authority plan foresees an entertainment and sports complex, with skiing on a synthetic surface, a marina, sports training facilities, an indoor water park, theme park attractions, as many as three hotels, senior housing, and time-share units.

After years of failed attempts to develop the land that the town obtained from the state in 2009, skepticism is understandable. But the Mohegan tribe is motivated to make this development a reality and it has a proven development record.

The Property Disposition and Development Agreement that voters are asked to approve has both incentives to encourage development and safeguards to make sure the town does not walk away empty handed if there is little or no progress.

Projects valued at $45 million or more would be taxed at 60 percent of assessed value for the first five years; projects valued from $10 million to $45 million at 75 percent for those five years; and projects less than that at full assessed value. When it assumes ownership, the gaming authority will start paying taxes on the undeveloped property.

In addition to tax incentives, the town agrees to complete the environmental remediation, using state financing.

If the development does not come to fruition, the town is still guaranteed an $11 million payment.

Contractual safeguards and state law would prevent the tribe from using sovereign immunity to dodge any of these legal obligations or from moving to take property into trust.

In time, the state needs to construct a second span to the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge, which links the property to Interstate 395, if it wants this plan to reach its full job-creation potential. But substantial development should be able to take place regardless.

On Tuesday, Preston residents should vote yes for a project that would substantially increase the town’s tax base and provide jobs.