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Crystal Lake residents seek county help with sediment cleanup; commissioners table funding decision
Summary
Members of the Crystal Lake Improvement Association asked Barry County commissioners for help dredging a filled sediment pond and channel. Staff explained regulatory limits and a historical 12% county contribution; commissioners agreed to review legal history and liability and tabled the funding decision for two weeks.
Residents and officials from the Crystal Lake Improvement Association asked the Barry County Board of Commissioners on April 14 to help pay to remove decades of sediment that has choked a settlement pond and clogged the lake’s navigation channel.
The association’s president told the board the pond that once reached 12 feet has filled with sediment, breached a dam in 1998 and now leaves the channel inaccessible to pontoons and boats. “We’re asking for any help you can offer,” the president said, describing repeated attempts to secure permits and local assistance.
Joy Murphy, who identified herself as a Crystal Lake resident, said the sediment has returned since the last permit work in 1998 and that her “biggest fear was losing our lake” because ongoing sedimentation could effectively end waterfront property values. “We’d like to follow this to the end and get the work done so all of our residents can enjoy this lake,” Murphy said.
County staff and the drain commissioner briefed commissioners on permitting constraints. The drain commissioner said the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (DEQ) now treats part of the site as wetland and limits the area that can be dredged, and that the association has obtained required easements and a petition outcome authorizing the project.
Commissioners focused on the county’s historical practice of contributing 12% of certain lake projects dating to a 2007 decision. “Why is the county being assessed for something that doesn’t benefit county taxpayers?” one commissioner asked, noting that Crystal Lake has no public access and that benefits accrue mainly to lakefront property owners.
County staff said the 12% share came through past actions and court records and that staff would research the legal delegation of authority, questions of liability, and whether the assessment rule should be revised. Several commissioners said they were sympathetic to the need but wanted more detail on the county’s legal exposure and the origins of the 12% contribution before authorizing taxpayer funds.
The board agreed to table the request for two weeks to allow the county administrator, drain commissioner and legal staff to review historical records and provide options. The chair said he would meet with staff and return recommendations at the next meeting.
