Christmas Lake AIS Gate - The Saga Continues

2/5/12

As previously reported, the gate closing off the boat ramp at Christmas Lake was installed by Shorewood. Meanwhile, there is no agreement with the Christmas Lake Association as to how the gate will be used, who pays for it and its maintenance and what happens the first time some disgruntled boater teras the gate arm off.

The Insider knows that Mayor Lizee, Administrator Heck and the MCWD Executive Director, Eric Evenson, have met to discuss things. The Insider worries about this as the last time this happened, the Mayor attempted to create a new Joint Powers Agreement, with a whole new board of people managing things and of course, with her as a key board member. Fortunately, the DNR would not go along and the JPA was ditched. The only damage was the fees the City Attorney charged for writing the flawed JPA (a project that was never authorized by the Council).

The 1/23 council meeting had the bill for the gate installation up for approval and it was approved without comment. So, the City paid out over $7000 to put the gate in. Of course, the messy detail that the Lake Association had agreed to pay a share, but had not was not discussed. Reminder, the City Council agreed to pay up to $2000 for the gate with the rest coming from the Association. Seems the Mayor can't be bothered with details like spending more than council authorized and collecting on a deal with the Association. Typical.

Happy Reading!
The Insider