Front Page
CREATURE OF THE BLACK LAGOON
The Lake Geneva Lagoon has a lot going on. Recently the city voted to remove the city-owned piers. The piers to be removed were well over fifty years old, in desperate need of repair, and had become unsafe. The renters of those boat slips were told they would have a delay in their boating season.
That has changed, and the delay has turned into the entire season. The boat slip renters of the lagoon have been refunded and compensated with free boat launches this summer at the city municipal boat launch. The lagoon needs a lot of work starting with the seawall repairs. The work is scheduled for the end of June. The lagoon is also in desperate need of dredging which will be done this summer. It has not been done for over fifteen years. The dredging will be done regularly after this.
After the seawall repairs and dredging are done the city needs to decide on a plan for the lagoon. The lagoon affects the entire lake so whatever is to be in the lagoon needs to be thought through very carefully. The other Geneva Lake municipalities are concerned about the lake’s well-being and what goes on in the lagoon affects the lake and would prefer nothing go into the lagoon. The Piers, Harbor, and Lakefront Committee were delayed in seeing the designs of potential pier replacements. The meeting before the last images of the possible pier replacement could not be viewed due to computer issues.
At the last meeting on June 11th, the images were shared with the committee and now we are waiting for the piers, harbor, and lakefront committee to make a recommendation. The question becomes what will be expected of the north side of the lagoon owned by the Towers. The piers on that side of the lagoon are as old and unsafe as the ones the city just removed. Also, if the health and longevity of the lake are affected by the lagoon and what is in it will the towers step up and make the decision based on what is right for Geneva Lake? The rights to the lagoon usage and the ownership of the adjacent land have been legally fought over through the years.
The Towers own the northern ‘shore’ of the lagoon area. It does not own the water or the bed of the thin stretch. Over the years, the Towers has made periodic payments to dredge and keep the maintenance of the lagoon up, so that its valuable lease proceeds from Elmers, the nautical company that pays for that space, and the private pier slips paid for by the Towers condo owners with boats are not lost.
Mayor Todd Krause has a wonderful new idea for how to handle the frequently necessary and very expensive dredging. A public works operable dredge boat, barge, and instrument can be purchased new for about $200,000. Every two years, or so, the department of the city could haul this very portable operation out and dredge for almost no capital outlay. Is that a solution the rest of the council and the public might find more acceptable? There’s also the problem coming up very shortly of the tearing down and reconstruction of the dam and spillway itself that’s going to take a great amount of time and money to accomplish.
Is the Towers going to kick in its fair share? Only time and the adroit diplomatic moves by this new very capable mayor are going to tell.
