Lake Eau Claire (WQOW) - Tuesday, the Eau Claire County Planning and Development Committee gave its support to a proposal that would address a major problem on Lake Eau Claire. The lake is filling up with sand, and the concern is, if nothing is done, the lake could disappear.
More than twenty property owners were at the meeting Tuesday to show their support. "You have to step up to the plate and be a part of this. It's just like taking care of the roads and the school tax and everything else, you may not have children in school but you still pay the tax. Well you're living on the lake and that's part of your responsibility is to take care of that lake. We need to be good stewards," says, Marlo Orth, a Lake Eau Claire Property Owner.
Forming a lake improvement district would allow them to establish a mandatory tax on all property owners on the lake. The money would be used to install silt traps to prevent more sand from coming into the lake. Aerators would also be installed to add oxygen to the water to help fish and plant growth.
Not all of the property owners are in favor of fixing the lake by forming a new government body. Chuck Cosgrove, a Lake Eau Claire Property Owner, says, "My impression that with a lake district, that the property owners, the folks who are fortunate enough to have property on this lake, would actually have more power, more voting rights, if you will.... per say, than somebody who isn't fortunate enough to live on this lake."
There is still one more step in the process. The Eau Claire County Board has the final say in whether the lake district is formed. The board could take this up as early as September 18th.
The cost could range between $100 to $200 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home.
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Lake Eau Claire (WQOW) - Residents near a popular area lake could come a little closer Tuesday night to getting the tools necessary to fix some major problems.
Lake Eau Claire is filling up with sand and county officials say if nothing is done the lake could disappear. More than half of the residents on the lake are in favor of forming a lake improvement district. That would allow them to establish a mandatory tax on all property owners on the lake.
The money would be used to install silt traps to prevent more sand from coming into the lake. Aerators would also be installed to oxygenate the water to help fish and plant growth.
The cost could range between $100 to $200 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home.
The county's planning committee is expected to vote Tuesday night to recommend creation of the lake district. The county board would have final say.
