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Sugar Camp town chair presses Oneida County over Sand Lake boat landing fee
Summary
Katie Bauknecht, Sugar Camp town chair, told the Oneida County Public Works Committee she and town officials were not notified about a newly implemented $10 fee and QR-code signage at Sand Lake boat landing and asked the county to clarify how revenue will be used, offer cash options, or reconsider the fee.
Katie Bauknecht, Sugar Camp town chair, told the Oneida County Public Works Committee on June 11 that town officials were not notified before the county installed signage and a QR-code payment system at the Sand Lake boat landing, leaving them unable to respond to residents’ questions. Bauknecht said she had received “a lot of frustration from people regarding both the QR code and the cost,” and asked the committee to provide an official statement explaining how fee revenue will be used that the town could post on its website.
Bauknecht proposed several practical options the county could present to the town board: allow cash payments at the landing, permit the town to collect fees weekly on the county’s behalf, rework the sign language to be less confrontational, lower or remove the $10 fee, or consider turning the landing over to the town for local management. She said the town plowed the landing for more than 30 years and suggested the town might be willing to help maintain it if the fee were reduced or eliminated.
County members acknowledged the concerns and described constraints. Supervisor Bob Almekinder said a county-owned landing cannot provide town resident passes like Hazelhurst or Minocqua, and Highway Commissioner Ben Rich said maintenance could include ramp repairs and mowing. Dan Gleason explained county staff initially believed the Wisconsin DNR might require reconstruction of the parking lot if the landing entrance had to be moved for bridge work. Chair Ted Cushing and others noted practical problems with cash collection: Cushing said Hazelhurst’s envelope box has been broken into, and Almekinder and Fried expressed concerns about security and staff capacity for handling cash without power or cameras.
Supervisor Billy Fried recommended that the commissioner and the chair work with the Town of Sugar Camp to negotiate improvements and communications. Bauknecht reiterated that a short statement describing what “maintaining” entails — specific upgrades rather than general language — would help residents accept the fee or understand alternatives.
The committee took the discussion under advisement and listed the Sand Lake landing as a future agenda item.
