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Residents urge Boyne City to ban winter 'bubblers,' citing safety and ecosystem harm
Summary
Multiple residents told the commission that residential 'bubblers' that keep lake water from icing pose safety risks and ecological harm, and urged enforcement of a 2023 ordinance and a May town hall to resolve the issue.
Residents pressed the Boyne City Commission to act on residential “bubblers” that keep sections of the lake open in winter, creating thin ice and safety hazards for people who historically used the lake for skating and other winter recreation.
At the podium, Jackie Malloy of 919 Lower Lake Drive said she has pushed the city about bubblers since 2022 and that a 2023 ordinance prohibiting certain installations has not been enforced at three residential docks off Bay Street and at a newer permanent dock on Lower Lake Street. “They need to be banned so we can let people have public access again,” Malloy said, describing open water near her home and showing photos she said documented the problem.
Neighbor Melissa Price said the open water and the noise from bubblers have made the lakefront in front of her home unusable in winter and called for enforcement or remedies, including, she suggested, a property tax adjustment if the city cannot restore use. “I pay $30,000 a year to property that I can't use out in front of my own house,” Price said.
An online commenter who identified herself as Morgan Hugget, who serves on a conservation board downstate, urged the commission to consider ecological impacts. She said bubblers disrupt thermal layering in lakes, risk nutrient mixing and harm aquatic ecosystems, and create liability risks when people walk on snow-covered ice near open water.
City staff told the commission they have begun targeted compliance outreach for short-term rentals and STRs and that planning staff will work on enforcement steps for bubblers; staff announced the city will schedule a public town hall in May to discuss the ordinance and gather community input. The city manager noted the town hall is intended to allow full community participation to inform next steps.
The exchange closed with staff direction to plan the May town hall on bubblers and to continue enforcement outreach; no ordinance changes were adopted at the meeting.
