THE BRIGHT SIDE

Trespassers create a dangerous bike trail on Center Street near Stoneridge neighborhood.
This safety issue has recently been discovered, and now the question becomes how to deal with it. The property was gifted to the City of Lake Geneva approximately twenty years ago by Brian Pollard. The original use of the gifted land was to be used as a conservancy. Whether or not this was formally done in writing is unknown and will be looked into. The property has no real access point and can only be entered through property owned by Pollard. With this being city property, it is considered public property, making trespassing not enforceable. The problem city officials are having is with the building of ramps and jumps, the amount of lumber and debris being used there, and some other junk simply dumped, as well as the noisy and dangerous use of chainsaws being used to cut trees and clear paths. It’s like someone or a group of people simply claimed it as their own.

A group of bikers, the TreadHeads, have been discussing this property with different members of the park board and wanted to start a discussion regarding the property being turned into a bike park. The Tread Head group has been very adamant about not being involved with the development currently there, and after looking at what has been done on the property, its members consider it very dangerous. The city is also very concerned with the danger, and if someone might get injured the city might be liable. Because it is city property trespassing is not completely enforceable, but the vandalism and building are. The identity of the people behind this is unknown.

The police will be patrolling the area and watching for anyone entering the property with equipment and or supplies and will stop and question them, and if need be, take action. Right now, the future of the land is unknown, but whatever it becomes Pollard would like to be involved in the discussion as he gifted the property for use as a conservancy and owns the only property that makes the land accessible. Pollard is a big developer in the Lake Geneva area and has properties neighboring the property, so he feels he has a stake in the game.

Many ideas are floating around; a park, a nature conservancy, a bike, and walking trail area, and possibly even the sale of it. For twenty years this land sat quietly and almost invisible to most.  That’s about to change.  Public works will be notified to place no trespassing signs. The issue and cost of removing the make-shift ramps and bridges will be looked at and discussed, and the city administrator will be contacting the city insurance company to make sure everything is being done correctly to ensure the city is not liable. The city is all about the safety of the public and is very intrigued as to who is behind the takeover.

White River County Park. 
The park is celebrating Founder’s Day on Saturday, May 14th. Join the Friends of White River County Park to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the park, along with the blooming of life along the river. The park was founded in 2014 and is one of the most majestical natural spots in Walworth County. This year’s celebration will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include lunch on the grill, family fun events, guided walks of the park’s trails, information on the history of the park, and much more. This is a free family-friendly event and the Friends of White River County Park look forward to celebrating and seeing everyone there.