Lake Holcombe Town Board; Water traffic should be limited for safety, but how?

Residents packed the Lake Holcombe Town Hall June 9, to discuss ordinances proposed by the Lake Holcombe Improvement Association, which they believed would limit the overpopulation of the lake. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

After the May meeting, when the Lake Holcombe Improvement Association (LHIA) approached the town board about doing something to limit traffic on the lake, ordinances were drafted by the association for discussion and approval by the board. After a special meeting, where the board reviewed the proposed ordinances, the matter was ready to be discussed at a regular meeting June 9.

Brian Guthman, town chairman, says the way the one ordinance is worded, implies that campgrounds create a public health hazard by boating on the lake. He said there has been no proof presented that campers are making a health hazard.

“There are all these other things that lead to people being on the lake,” he said, adding that there’s been a 35 percent boater registration increase since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patrick Viergutz, president of the LHIA, says it is about public safety on the water, but Guthman said the ordinance is written as a public health hazard, of which he sees no evidence pointing to that. Viergutz says with the ordinances, he wants to get in line with other townships around the lake, so everyone is on the same page.

“Lake Holcombe does not have one, the other townships do,” said Viergutz.

At their own expense, the LHIA hired a law firm to draft the ordinance, to help save the township money. Viergutz said the ordinances don’t have to be worded exactly as proposed, but thought they were what the town needs.

“It’s a starting point,” said Viergutz. He said it’s not safe to take watercrafts out on weekends and holidays, because boat traffic is so heavy. Viergutz said he would like to drive his watercraft on the lake, without staring at everyone coming toward him in their watercrafts.

Currently, there are 12 campgrounds within the township. “They (campers) don’t all use the lake, but a lot of them do,” said Viergutz. “Listen to the community. It’s goes beyond the health hazard.”

Guthman says he spoke with the Towns Association, of which Lake Holcombe is a member, and said the town would have to hire an attorney and rewrite the ordinance, because it is not a health hazard.

“A person’s safety is a health hazard,” said Viergutz. Before agreeing that’s true, Guthman said he will need to see a survey that shows the campgrounds are to blame. Viergutz says the LHIA is not putting blame on the campgrounds, but are concerned that there is such a concentrated number of people on small spaces of land.

“Let’s start somewhere, so we can at least get some control of what’s going on,” he said.

As part of their mission in protecting and preserving the resource that is the lake, the LHIA has spent money to mitigate green algae, is working to hold boater safety courses, has life jacket kiosks and secure docks around the lake, and manages and maintain all buoys.

“We’ve been very active,” said Viergutz. Resident Larry Becker said he would like to see Lake Holcombe do what other townships are doing already, by having a comprehensive land plan, which ordinances are then created from, based on the needs/ wants of the plan.

“It’s nothing more than a future of what this township wants,” he said, mentioning that the lake is overpopulated. “It’s the number of boats on the lake.”

Doug Olson, supervisor, says he doesn’t think the lake has reached overpopulation, although he admits it is busy and has grown in just the last few years. Becker had previously asked the board to consider a comprehensive land plan, which the board agreed to look into.

“It hasn’t fallen on deaf ears,” said Olson. “We’re working on it.”

Supervisor David Staudacher said an ordinance won’t help regulate the amount of boats on the lake or their safety while on the water.

“We need enforcement,” said Staudacher. “If you can’t enforce it, there’s no sense in making a new ordinance.”

Guthman added that he doesn’t get nuisance calls from campgrounds, but from trucks and trailers blocking residences near the public boat landings. He asked if the LHIA can prove those vehicles are from the campgrounds.

“I have not seen one thing…that says someone went on the lake and asked people at the boat landing, ‘Where did you come from today?’” said Guthman.

LHIA member Darrell Hornick said the point of the ordinance is to limit the number of people on the lake, but Guthman says they can’t just put an ordinance like that in place, to tell people what to do on their own property. There was also a part to the ordinances that stated the LHIA thought campers, mobile homes and modular homes should pay a monthly fee to the township.

Guthman says there is a misconception that people are not paying on permanent campers and that the town’s new assessor will make sure they pay taxes.

“He is in the process of doing that,” said Guthman, who feels there is no way to collect those fees proposed. “We don’t know how we’ll ever enforce this, even if we did put it in place.”

Doing his due diligence, Guthman did go to some campgrounds, where some there said they would not pay monthly fees and that the town would have to take them to court. Guthman also said he drove through many of the campgrounds and found the campers/ trailers to be very nice, without any garbage sitting around and with sewage systems in place.

“I can’t see the public health hazard,” he said.

Hornick said the LHIA is not talking about current campers and campgrounds, but is looking at the future, which is overcrowding.

“It’s really not about what we have now,” said Hornick. “It’s about what we’re trying to limit in the future, to keep the numbers down, to keep it safer on the water.”

The LHIA attorney, who was present at the meeting, suggested the matter be tabled, until they can present such data to prove the lake overcrowding is because of campers or some other entity. Jackie McDaniel, LHIA treasurer, also asked that the matter be tabled and that an ADHOC Committee be formed, so all parties can really talk about comprehensive land use and the ordinance proposed.

“I don’t think you should just turn it down,” she said.

Guthman said without comprehensive zoning, the town can’t put a zoning ordinance in place. Speaking his piece, Olson said he heard from more than a dozen businesses, many of whom are members of the LHIA, that they are adamantly opposed to the ordinances proposed.

“They believe it’s important for the community of Lake Holcombe to continue to grow, and promote tourism and recreation,” he said, “allowing businesses to thrive, and provide goods and services to all residents, full and part-time, year-round. I have not received one call, email or in-person conversation in support of these ordinances.”

Olson says he, personally, cannot support the ordinances proposed.

“I think it would be wrong for the Town of Lake Holcombe Board to choose one group of lake users over another,” said Olson.

Bill Stimeling, resident, asked that the board make a motion to put the issue on the table to send it to a focus group or committee. With the lack of a motion, the action died.

Becker asked to put comprehensive planning on the next agenda, to keep something going with the momentum begun, to which the board agreed. However, Staudacher says the ordinance charging fees for those who live in mobile homes or modular homes, is not something he wants to look at again.

“You’ll never see me supporting that,” he said, to which Olson and Guthman agreed.