EAGLES NEST TWP— Neighbors of a soon-to-be developed township access road to Eagles Nest Lake One repeatedly expressed frustration here Tuesday evening, but that didn’t stop the town board from approving the conversion of two small pieces of undeveloped park land to a road right-of-way.
The issue may have seemed like a minor one, but it drew two dozen township residents to Tuesday’s public hearing, which was required to convert parkland to some other public use. In this case, according to town board chair Richard Floyd, the township wanted to convert an additional 20 feet on both sides of the final 75 feet of the road to allow for fire trucks to turn around.
Neighbors, already upset over the town board’s earlier decision to build a long-platted but never constructed road between Bear Head Lake State Park Road and Eagles Nest One, were clearly frustrated with the latest proposal and its potential impact on their property. Diane Kromer, of Ely, who owns a summer residence with her husband Dave, said the expansion of the right-of-way would only exacerbate the visual impact of the road clearing. “I don’t think people realize how many big, beautiful pine are going to be removed,” she said.
Floyd didn’t argue the point. “I know there are some nice white pine there and I hate to see them go,” he acknowledged. He added, however, that public safety concerns had to come first. “Like it or not, we live in a world today that is filled with fire and it’s only going to get worse,” he said. He noted that the access point would provide an efficient escape route by boat if people were trapped on some of the township’s dead-end roads. It will also provide the township’s fire department with ready access to water, he noted.
But Dave Kromer questioned those arguments and said the township already had several reliable water sources within a mile of the planned new road. He said other parts of the township were miles from a reliable water source and questioned why the township wasn’t focused on developing access points in those locations.
Floyd didn’t dispute Kromer’s suggestion. “You’re right that our water resources are not all evenly disbursed, but we need as much water as we can get,” he said. Kromer, clearly agitated throughout much of the hearing, called the process “a kangaroo court.” While Dave Kromer clearly had more to say, Floyd eventually cut him off, noting that he had already exceeded the five minutes that the board was allowing per person for the hearing.
Neighbor Steve Delich said he was worried the construction of the road and expanded right-off-way at the end could end up as a public access to the lake, something lake residents have generally opposed. Delich suggested that the town board consider installing a gate at the entrance to the new road, to restrict access, which was something Floyd said the board would consider.
Board member Frank Sherman, in comments later in the meeting, agreed with Floyd that the town board has no interest in creating a public access point. “I would oppose that,” he said, adding that he would be willing to consider installation of a gate at the road entrance.
While Delich and others complained there had been insufficient public notice of the township’s proposal, board member DeAnn Schatz wasn’t buying it. She noted that the issues surrounding the road had been discussed at board meetings for years, and that meetings had been properly posted, both at the town hall and on the township’s website. “This has gone on for years,” she said. “Let’s quit kicking the can down the road.”
With the handful of speakers out of time, and with the vast majority of those in attendance remaining silent, the board made quick work of a resolution that converts just under one-tenth of an acre from parkland to road right-of-way, approving it unanimously. Floyd then declared that the township owed no damages for the conversion, since the land remained in public trust.
Construction of the road is expected to begin later this summer.