October 15, 2018 at 4:36 p.m.
Newbold board hears other side to no-wake dispute
TIS mapping on town roads complete
Newbold board hears other side to no-wake dispute
Last month, the board heard from a group of Pickerel Lake property owners, represented by Nancy Verkuilen, who are requesting "no wake" buoys be placed in narrower locations on the lake. They expressed safety concerns, with some citizens offering firsthand accounts of what they felt were "close calls" in the channel near the south end of the lake.
At that meeting, Verkuilen stated the board looked into the issue in 2003, but final approval for placement of the buoys was never given.
The topic was revisited at Thursday's meeting, when a different group of Pickerel Lake residents offered additional perspective on the dispute.
Several members of the lake association brought forth documentation of three instances, in 2003, 2006 and 2010, where the buoy issue was repeatedly brought before the board but failed to come to fruition. The reason, they said, was the lake association itself was against imposing a no-wake zone on its residents.
Town chairman Dave Kroll reviewed the 2010 application, on which he had checked the "disapprove" box for placement of four buoys.
He stated there was significant opposition to the buoys at that time but the application was denied for several technical reasons. First, the application was made by a private individual rather than by the town. In addition, no ordinance was created and adopted, a step required by the DNR before it would approve the buoy application.
Warden supervisor Dave Walz sent a communication stating he checked into the application for two buoys from 2003 and it is still valid, provided nothing else changed.
Kroll stated he would rather not create an ordinance, but felt the lake association should help to provide a solution or to come up with some sort of educational campaign to help boaters understand the importance of safety and being aware of their surroundings in the channel.
He also referenced input he has received from the public accusing the board of creating hardship and dissension among neighbors by revisiting the buoy issue.
"My concern with that, quite frankly, is that it's not the board that's causing dissension among neighbors," Kroll said. "It's the people that are up there, the few people that are up there, that are so concerned about their rights to operate their boats in any manner they see fit that they are disregarding the rights of their neighbors. That is what's causing the dissension."
The dispute is causing enough dissension, that residents have felt compelled to ask the board to step in, he added. The board has a legal obligation to look out for the safety and well-being of people of the town, he explained, adding that the panel takes this responsibility very seriously.
"We've been approached with some serious concerns about the safety of that channel," he said. "Everybody using that lake has the right to use that lake. There has to be some give and take here. Here's my suggestion, for what it's worth. I'm not comfortable with this or any board taking these complaints over and over again and not addressing it."
If a person were to get hurt in that channel, the first question asked would be why did the board fail to do anything when concerns were repeatedly brought before them, he continued. When looking at complaints receives town-wide, Kroll stated he believes the channel on Pickerel Lake is likely the most dangerous stretch of water in the town.
He does not get complaints about other bodies of water, he noted.
"My question for those who are against this is, what do you want the board to do? How would you like to resolve this issue?"
Following those remarks, he called on the association to try to take the issue into its own hands rather than have the board create an ordinance. Again he called for an educational campaign and went so far as to offer to mediate a lake association meeting to help the two sides come to some sort of agreement. He also reiterated the board's legal duty to protect the people of the town.
The board is expected to revisit the issue in November after the members inspect the documentation presented.
In other business:
Ed Hammer, chair of the town's terrestial invasive species, and Baerbel Ehrig of Oneida County Land and Water Department, presented several maps of nine different invasive species found last summer along the town's 112 miles of roadway. Over the course of the summer, all town roads were walked or biked, and invasive species mapped.
In all, Ehrig said there were 2,800 findings within the town borders. The news was not all bad, however. Ehrig said she and her crew noted many areas with strong wildflower populations. Those populations seemed to hold nearby invasives at bay, she explained.
Ehrig also presented some information to those in attendance regarding various invasives and best practices to fight them.
There will be a special public meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Newbold Town Hall for residents interested in learning more about the terrestrial invasive species found along town roads, including which ones are on their own properties.
All are welcome to attend.
The town board was also approached by the Two Sisters Lake Association for support for their Clean Boats Clean Water program grant.
This would be the 15th year the association would receive the grant to help educate boaters about the dangers of aquatic invasive species. The board quickly offered that support to the association, signing the grant application paperwork.
The Newbold Outdoor Recreation Area (NORA), represented by Jackie Cody, approached the board asking for funds to erect a storage building on the NORA grounds.
An estimate for materials for a 16X12-foot building was obtained from Argonne Lumber and the group also obtained an estimate on needed concrete work, Cody said.
The total was approximately $4,980. An anonymous has donated $1,500 and the group is working with two other donors, but would need to procure the remainder of the money from the town, she explained.
Cody stated the NORA group would like the approval sooner rather than later so they can approach Blackwell Job Corps about doing the work to erect the building. With money for the outdoor recreation area already in the budget, and understanding the need for storage on the property, the board unanimously agreed to use those funds to complete the project.
Newbold's budget hearing was scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 3.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
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