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| 6/12/2007 8:19:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Upcoming lake district petition inspires impassioned debate
Dialogue centers on issues of ecology, fairness and taxation
Ed Culhane
Reporter
A proposal to form a lake district to protect Minocqua and Kawaguesaga lakes has sparked a lively and sometimes contentious debate.
Nearly 50 people attended a public meeting on the issue Wednesday at the Minocqua Center. Some of the most vocal speakers were adamantly opposed to the creation of another government body with the powers to tax.
Some argued it was the state's job to monitor the health of the lakes and take on the expensive, protracted fight against the invasive species that threaten them.
"That's why I pay taxes to the state of Wisconsin," said Nancy Horn. "The DNR (Department of Natural Resources) should be doing it. To me it's another tax, another agency, another government body, and God knows we don't need another government body."
Even some of those opposed to a lake district, however, recognized that volunteers with the Minocqua/Kawaguesaga Lakes Protection Association - who rely on grants and annual dues - are fighting an uphill battle without enough help from their neighbors.
"I really appreciate you guys taking the heat," said Micaela Inman, who expressed gratitude for the work of the volunteers. "I give you a lot of credit. I'm willing to pay higher dues to get this done."
Early in the two-hour meeting there were moments when anger threatened to bubble to the surface.
"We can certainly disagree without being disagreeable," said Bob Korth at one point.
Korth, a lakes specialist with UW-Extension, opened the presentation with a general overview of lake districts in Wisconsin.
"The bottom line is they are a unit of government," Korth told the group. "They have the ability to tax."
The state gave property owners the power to form lake districts in the early 1970s, Korth said, to strengthen the ability of lake residents to protect their treasured surface waters.
"It was a matter of fairness," Korth said. "Typically, a small group of volunteers were spending their time and money doing things that benefitted everybody."
Using a video screen, Korth described the mechanics of lake associations, how they are formed and managed and what powers they possess. A unique feature of lake districts is that non-resident property owners can vote.
Opponents fear new taxing power
The video presentation was stopped frequently as Korth was peppered by questions. Some area residents were alarmed by the concept of a taxing entity with spending decisions made at an annual meeting where attendance is necessary to participate.
The fear is that meetings could be set when seasonal residents would be unable to attend, though Korth said this has not been an issue with existing lake districts.
"What you're telling us, you can't vote unless you are sitting in the chair, and that's wrong," said William Thompson.
Some objected to the fact that it takes 51 percent of the property owners within the proposed boundaries to form a lake district, but a two-thirds vote at the annual meeting to dissolve it.
"You're saying once it's formed it's like herpes. It's here forever," said one opponent.
Lakes advocate sees a grim reality
The second speaker was Dick Garrett, a board member of the lake association.
To an observer taking notes, there was a noticeable calming effect as Garrett shifted the discussion from the general concept of lake districts to the specific lakes involved in this proposal.
Garrett said that since its inception in 1995, the association has spent $471,000 on lake studies, pollution testing and treatments to control invasive plants like Eurasian watermilfoil.
Of this total, $51,000 has come from association dues. The larger balance has come from grants, most from the state Department of Natural Resources.
Studies have already determined that the lake is being harmed by leaking septic systems and by polluted run-off heavy with phosphorous.
Half of the lake residents responding to a recent survey, Garrett said, believe the lake is becoming cloudier and is developing a bad odor. Half believe water quality is declining. Two-thirds believe weeds are becoming a problem, and three-quarters have a desire to control the spread of invasive species.
Phosphorous is lake enemy No. 1
Garrett said the biggest threat facing lakes Minocqua and Kawaguesaga is phosphorous, which washes into the lakes with run-off and in especially large doses whenever soil is disturbed.
"Hundreds of thousands of pounds of this stuff comes into the lakes because of development," Garrett said.
Phosphorous feeds algae blooms and robs the lake of dissolved oxygen. Levels in lake sediment have quadrupled since 1985 and dissolved phosphorous in the water has increased by 69 percent since 1988, Garrett said.
As levels increase, the water will become cloudier and more weed choked, and game fish will gradually be replaced by rough fish like carp.
"I'm trying to instill a sense of urgency in you," Garrett said. "You can sit back and wait for something to happen, but by that point, it's too late."
An on-going, grant-funded study is seeking to quantify and identify sources of pollution, Garrett said. Currently, phosphorous levels are at 19 parts per billion. When levels reach 24 ppb, he said, the lake will be entering its eutrophic or final phase, prematurely aging and filling in with weeds.
"One of the goals we set is to fight like hell to keep that (phosphorous level) down," Garrett said. "The vision of the lake association is to protect our unique environment. You have to think longtime. When you talk about leaving a lake for my grandchildren, I'm worried."
Currently, he said, between 25 and 30 percent of lakefront property owners are members of the lake association and contribute to the studies and treatments to control invasive plant species.
"I'll be perfectly frank about it," Garrett said. "It's getting old."
He said when Eurasian watermilfoil sprouted up to surround a boat landing last summer the association had no funds to deal with the emergency.
"The Lakeland Times and Trig's picked up the bill because we didn't have the money," Garrett said, referring to publisher Gregg Walker and area business owner Trig Solberg.
He said the job is too big for a lake association.
"A lake district can deal with these problems better than a group of volunteers going around knocking on doors," Garrett said.
Some favor mill rate over flat fee
Much of the discussion toward the end of the meeting shifted to a debate about the manner in which a district should be funded, should it be formed.
The proposed boundary would include lakefront property on Minocqua Lake, Kawaguesaga Lake, Lake Jerome, the Minocqua Thoroughfare and the Tomahawk Lake Thoroughfare to the Thoroughfare Road bridge.
Organizers are currently proposing a flat, annual fee, estimated at $40 for the start-up year of 2009, which would be assessed against all property owners in the district.
The alternative is a mill rate - the method used by towns and school districts - in which the annual tab for landowners in the district is based on the value of their property.
Organizers said the flat fee was chosen because they felt it would be easier to explain.
Several speakers at the meeting, however, argued that the flat fee is unfair and that a mill rate is more equitable.
Joe Handrick, chairman of the town of Minocqua, suggested a mill rate. With the proposed 2009 budget of $45,000, landowners with property valued at less than $400,000 would probably pay less than $40.
"I think that makes it easier to sell a mill rate," Handrick said. "You tell people the big guys will be paying a larger share. It's easier to sell the mill rate because you have more winners and fewer losers."
Sally Murwin, president of the Minocqua/Kawaguesaga Lakes Protection Association, said afterward she was calling an emergency meeting of the lake association board to discuss the issues raised at the meeting.
The door-to-door petition drive to form a lake district is scheduled to begin immediately after the association's annual meeting, set for 5 p.m. June 23 at the Minocqua Country Club.
Detailed information on lake districts is available on the Internet at www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/.
Ed Culhane can be reached at ed@lakelandtimes.com.
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