Below is some information from Crappie Tom concerning the possible dredging of Lake Zumbro in the old Sandy Popint location of the lake/river. This information is being supplied to us thanks to Crappie Tom and Bill Harwick.
Post: #1Lake Zumbro dredging issue….
I spent a half hour on the phone today with Rep. Kim Norton of Rochester today talking about this issue. What has thoroughly amazed me is the fact that no-one has brought any discussion to light on the side of the coin addressing WHY something like this should be done at the tax-payers expense when it appears that it is only the private owner sector who stands to gain from it.
Personally I have a ton of questions that I feel need to be answered with specific answers without grey areas. One of the big ones is why this “alliance of property owners” on the lake did not show any interest in something of this nature until AFTER those town homes were put up on the old Sandy Point site and the builders ran into water-depth issues when the mention of docks came to light. And I seriously want to know why they are not showing any concern for WHY any portion of that lake is silted in in the first place….where does the silt come from? Address that issue first and get it under control, then look at the lake since it is at the end of the real problem. What is being suggested is to work backwards by doing the lake first apparently.
I think a public forum should be held so that persons with similar questions as what I have can address them and directly ask the members of that other group why they feel this is necessary.
As related to me by Rep. Norton, any bill will simply pass as un-opposed unless people opposed to this speak out. So I am stepping up to the plate here and will be writing a letter which will be sent to the three reps that are from the Rochester district that have input regarding this issue and Lake Zumbro. When this letter is sent, I am going to post it here so all of you can get an idea of where I am going.
As I write this I think back at that fiasco where the city authorized the dumping of sludge from the Zumbro River into Foster, saying that nobody came to a public hearing when the notice was smaller than a stamp. Government pulled a quicky there, but I am not sleeping on this one.
I urge everyone with a concern in this to write 3 reps who serve you. Tell them you have a problem with this just “happening” because the affluent want the tax-payers to spruce up their little piece of the world and then tell you that you can’t even use it. Myself, I think a shoreline assessment should be imposed on those lakeshore owners to the tune of about 100.00 annually per foot of shoreline. I have to pay for street repair thru tax assessments and I “am required” to shovel the PUBLIC sidewalks [which I also have to repair-at my own cost] and mow the grass that grows on the boulevard. I get no renumeration from the taxpayers for doing this and actually am held to liability if someone is injured while walking on the darned walk. I don’t feel the least bit bad about suggesting that shoreline owners step up pay a similar fee if they feel that public maintenance is needed.
The three to contact at this point are able to be contacted at the following e-mail addresses. Now is the time to step up to the plate!
The letter I write will be put here within a couple days.