Committee proposes ‘Adopt an Access Area’ program at lake

Talk about it

The Lake Mitchell Advisory Committee opposed an initiated measure to designate numerous acres of city-owned property near the lake as park land, so members of the board weren’t thrilled with the success of the Nov. 2 ballot question.

But they do see a silver lining.

“This vote shows there is passion about the lake,” committee chairman Greg McCurry said at a Lake Mitchell Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday. “Hopefully we can harness that passion into volunteer labor.”

McCurry and other committee members said they hope to capitalize on that feeling of ownership by asking people to help maintain the lake and its shore. They plan an informational campaign to ask people to adopt areas, and McCurry said he will ask local organizations if he can speak to them and show a brief PowerPoint presentation.

The plan is to explain the committee’s goals and hopes for the future of the manmade lake, he said. The committee has come up with an Adopt an Access Area program and hopes groups and individuals choose to take part, McCurry said.

Pamphlets outlining the program have been printed and are being distributed by committee members.

Mayor Lou Sebert attended the meeting to discuss the election. Sebert said the impact of the vote is still unclear.

“You basically know as much as I do,” he said.

But he said he and City Attorney Randy Stiles agree that the petition language could be interpreted to mean that the city cemetery, golf course, airport, water treatment plant and the land where the National Guard base is located could be considered park land.

City policy calls for parks to close at 11 p.m., Sebert said. He was unsure what impact that could have at the city facilities.

No alcohol is allowed in some city parks, the mayor noted, and these newly designated park areas will have to be treated like Hitchcock Park, ballparks and other areas labeled as parks.

City Councilman Mel Olson has considered introducing an amendment or an entirely new ordinance in an attempt to clear up what he, Sebert and others see as potential problems.

But under state law, no modifications can be made until a year after the initiated measure was approved, Sebert told the committee.

Some of the work the committee has done in recent years has been funded by the sale of city-owned property near the lake. That is now blocked by the newly passed law.

Committee member John McLeod asked if another vote could be held to designate some areas for sale. There are “slivers” of city-owned land by people’s homes that now cannot be sold to the homeowners.

McCurry said if such a vote was held it would be discussed at a committee meeting, a Parks Board meeting and then a City Council meeting.

“There will be several avenues for public input,” Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department Director Dusty Rodiek said.

But Rodiek said he thinks no action should be taken for some time.

“Let the dog sleep for a while,” he said. “Don’t kick the dog.”

Rodiek said while obtaining funds for lake improvement projects can’t come from land sales, there are other avenues. He said there are grant dollars available and user fees could be implemented.

“I think this committee is still very valuable,” he said. “There is still grant funding out there.”

Rodiek urged the committee to focus on one project and direct its resources there. The public beach is a good place to start in the next year or two, he said.

McCurry said the committee just needs to consider its options.

It can ask for people to donate trees, reduce the use of harmful chemicals in their fertilizer and encourage bestmanagement practices. “I think we’re just going to have to get creative,” he said. On other issues:

• Committee members also plan a meeting this winter to come up with a long-term plan for the lake. Committee member Joe Kippes said he was told by several people before the election that they wonder if such a plan exists. “It’s never been laid out publicly,” Kippes said.

The meeting would likely take the form of a weekend retreat, McCurry said, and the public would be welcome to attend any or all of it.

• Some people have asked if the committee would want to place used Christmas trees in the lake to create fish habitat.

Trees have been put in the lake for such a purpose in the past. Cedars are the best trees to do that, Rodiek said.

The committee will work with the state Game, Fish and Parks Department to obtain a map of the lake and see where areas of fish habitat have been created before taking any action.

• The committee said committee member Troy Helleloid deserves thanks for using his pontoon barge and crane to move a SolarBee and the new public fishing docks.

The SolarBee has been placed in storage by the city and the new dock has been shifted to an area on the lake where it is less likely to be damaged by ice.

Helleloid did the work at no charge to the city.

The Lake Mitchell Advisory Committee meets at 4 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month at the Recreation Center. The meetings are open to the public.

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