In an effort to alleviate congestion at a heavily-used boat landing, the Town of Hayward Board voted July 12 to purchase 1.5 wooded acres across Linden Road from the town’s boat landing on Round Lake.
At a special electors meeting on July 11, townspeople voted 24-2 by a show of hands to authorize the town to purchase the 1.5 acres from Kay Stanek for up to $80,000. The parcel has 300 feet of frontage on the road.
O July 12, a motion was approved unanimously by the town’s planning commission and then the town board to purchase the parcel for $75,266.10.
The area now “gets pretty dangerous,” with boat launch users parking their vehicles on both sides of the winding, narrow Linden Road some distance from the access, said Town Chairman Ben Kurtzweil. Parking is prohibited on Linden Road in the vicinity of the boat launch driveway, and another sign prohibits parking on the pavement.
The initial idea is to turn the newly-purchased parcel into a parking lot and in the future possibly add a pavilion picnic area, Kurtzweil said.
“The idea of having parking off the roadway makes perfect sense to me for public safety and fits into our recreational plan,” said town board and planning commission member Andrea Wittwer. “We have a right to utilize that lake and this is a big step in that direction.”
Other boat landings on the lake are on Peninsula Road and Busse Road.
A Round Lake Property Owners Association (RLPOA) board member suggested having a boat decontamination station on the newly-purchased parcel.
Kurtzweil said it would take a week for the town road crew to clear the trees and turn the parcel into a gravel parking lot.
Richard Dewhurst, former chairman of the town planning commission, said the town has been working on this issue since 2005. The town did widen the shoulders on Linden Road to provide for more parking. But “you barely have room to get a vehicle off the road,” he said.
Dewhurst added that the town “has been able put aside money for years to buy and improve recreational facilities. This (purchase) will not touch your tax bill. It’s in reserve.”’
Town resident Gary Nathan said “This is an opportunity that should not be passed up. That is the most-used boat landing on Round Lake.”
Carol Hauser, a cabin owner on Linden Road, said she drove by the landing on a day that was not July 4th and there were 14 rigs parked along the road. “For safety of walking, biking and driving, this sounds like a great idea,” she said.
Gene Magiera said he came to the landing on a Wednesday in the third week of June and “the parking lot was full.” It accommodates four rigs on either side of the driveway, he said. “I think this (purchase) is a no-brainer.”
Town Police Chief John Kosterman said the boat launch is “utilized all the time. It’s extremely busy, even year-round.” In the winter, parking is even more limited because of snow, so the new space becoming available “will alleviate problems for those folks as well. Our goal would be to have no parking on Linden whatsoever, and painting a pedestrian crossing” between the new parking area and the boat launch area.
The speed limit on Linden is 25 mph.
Responding to a speaker’s concerns, Kosterman said the town’s boat landings have signs stating that dogs must be on leashes. There are dog waste stations. There are no trash receptacles. Signs ask people to carry out their waste and “We have had almost no issues with people dumping.” Kathy Moe, town parks and recreation worker, visits the landings periodically and cleans up if there is an issue.
“Most people are very respectful and don’t leave their trash behind,” he said.
Signs at the landing prohibit swimming and picnicking there.
Gary Blinkwolt said boat landings on Grindstone Lake and Lac Courte Oreilles, installed in the 1970s, now “are almost too small. I can easily see this 1.5 acres (on Linden Road) being utilized.”
Facilties assessment
Also at their July 12 meeting, the town board voted 3-0-2 to sign a contract with Kraus-Anderson to perform a town facilities assessment for $6,500.
“I want this project to get started,” said Wittwer. “We have put it off since September and in the meantime prices are going up. Kraus-Anderson is not doing engineering or design at this stage. They’re determining whether or not if we can use these buildings, and if so, how. If we keep putting it off, we never will move forward.”
Voting to sign the contract were Ben Kurtzweil, Gary Inhoff and Andrea Wittwer. Voting to abstain were Carol Williamson and Brenda Dettloff.
“I am not against this contract,” said Williamson. “I would like more transparency and would like to be included on decisions. Ben, I and Brenda were not in on the initial interview.”
Kurtzweil said “I think K-A will provide a professional assessment. I don’t want to un-do stuff just because I was not there at the beginning.”
Town Clerk Bryn Hand said the board already had approved the request for proposals contract with K-A, including reviews by the town’s and K-A’s attorneys.
“As soon as I get any information you guys (board members) are the first to know,” Kurtzweil said. “I’m trying to be as transparent as possible.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0