Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By P.J. GLISSON
Wakefield — After discussing limited progress on a sensitive situation regarding Plymouth Lake, members of the Wakefield City Council voted Monday evening to send the issue back to the Planning Commission for further discussion.
The action related to a report from City Manager Robert Brown Jr., who explained limited progress made in a June 18 meeting, in which he met with Plymouth Lake property owners Harry Butler and Rod Ritter, as well as several other city and local trail officials.
It had been hoped that Ron Yesney of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources could attend, but he was unable to do so.
The special meeting occurred after council members had reached an impasse in previous discussions at their regular June 14 meeting.
At the regular meeting, Brown said that Plymouth Lake property owner Butler — whose property Brown has described as “critical” in the years-long attempt to continue paved and nonpaved trails from Ramsay to Wakefield — would agree to grant an easement to his property for the paved Iron Belle Trail if the city, in turn, would enter a “perpetual covenant to forbid motorized watercraft from accessing the Plymouth Open Pit” from property that the city owns on the western side of the lake.
Brown added Monday evening that Butler modified that offer at the June 18 meeting by changing “perpetual” to “a 100-year moratorium.”
Brown concluded, “That’s the stalemate we’re at.” He then emphasized, “I think further discussions with Mr. Butler are not going to be productive.”
The city manager then told council members that they could take action to comply with Butler’s request, or they could refer the matter back to city planners, or “wait to see what happens.”
“I feel like Mr. Butler has us under his thumb,” said Council Member Amy Tarro, who added that him telling the council what to do “is just wrong.”
The city manager also clarified that no provisions yet have been agreed upon in relation to a companion motorized trail, for which officials of the city and trail authorities both have voiced strong desire. Brown’s report states that Butler “left the door open” for negotiations relating to the northern side of his property, but little optimism in that regard was expressed in Monday’s meeting.
Greyson Morrow, a guest at Monday’s meeting who described himself as Butler’s friend, noted that Butler is not the only person in the area that is wary of motorized traffic.
“There’s a lot of people who like the peace and quiet,” he said about the lake and surrounding area, which have a nearly silent atmosphere in comparison to the busier, more social region of Sunday Lake.
“I see people fishing there,” said Butler of Plymouth Lake, and added that appears to be fine with lake property owners who are mainly against noise from motor boats or snowmobiles.
Morrow suggested that if the city allowed only canoe access, it might serve as a compromise to a recent ruling by the state Attorney General’s office that the city could not deny public access to the lake, which it defined as “navigable water,” from city property.
Brown also made clear that, even if the city entered an agreement with Butler, “There are still easements that would need to be secured with several surrounding property owners before an official trail route could be established.”
“Maybe it’s time to start contacting other landowners,” said Mayor Dale White, who assured that he wants to see both paved and motorized trails through Wakefield.
“100 years might as well be perpetual for us,” added White.
“We continue to be unhappy with the current proposal,” said Steve Hamilton, president of the Gogebic Range Trail Authority, who was present at Monday’s meeting, as well as at the two previous meetings.
“We need a solution that is amiable to the motorized group,” pressed Hamilton.
Both Hamilton and Tarro noted that motorized trails are what bring money into local communities.
The mayor also noted that “this council has to look for what’s best for everybody.”
Also present at the June 18 meeting — which Brown said lasted about one and one-half hours — were Paul Anderson of the Western Gateway Trail Authority; Anna Lovelace of Coleman Engineering of Ironwood; James Anderson, a member of both the City Council and the Planning Commission; and Jerry Nezworski of GRTA.
The vote to refer the situation back to Planning Commission was unanimous with all members present.
Brown explained after the meeting that, if the city had agreed to Butler’s suggestion, it would have meant merely that the city would not install a boat ramp on its property for the noted 100-year period. He has clarified in the past that the city’s property on the lake is wild in nature and does not currently facilitate boat use.
