|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
January 17, 2006Launch debate spawns back-room allegationsProponents are questioning lawyer's hiring
Benzie resident Larry Harju is in favor of the proposed DNR boat launch on Crystal Lake. Harju argues that the main boat launch in Beulah is inadequate and the smaller boat launches in the area are sub-par. Many days, Harju says, he can't launch a boat at the lake's only paved public ramp in Beulah, either because he'd have to park too far away or because wind from the west makes the water at the ramp too rough. A proposed Department of Natural Resources boat launch on the south side of Crystal Lake would make it much easier to access the lake, but Harju and other Benzie County residents worry that a behind-the-scenes effort is afoot to undermine that plan. Already a lawsuit has pitted lakefront property owners against state agencies and those who want enhanced Crystal Lake access. "I don't think they own any of that water," Harju said. "I think the citizens of Michigan own the water, and they have the right to use it." Proponents of the new boat launch - it would include two double boat ramps and more than 100 parking spots - suspect that county administrator Chuck Clarke, who owns Crystal Lake waterfront property, hired Traverse City attorney James Olson to tweak county zoning in favor of those who want to block or trim the launch site. Olson and Clarke deny any back-room plot exists. Clarke said Olson was hired to review amendments to the county's zoning because he is an expert in zoning and environmental law. The board of commissioners is expected to decide today whether to oust Olson at the request of county planning commissioners, who last week unanimously voted to ask the county board to "reconsider" Olson's hiring. Some planning commissioners praised Olson's work, but Donald Tanner, a planning commissioner and former county board chair, said he worries about a memo Olson wrote in 2002 to the Crystal Lake Watershed Fund that outlines a legal strategy to contest "the size, scale, and design of a DNR Boat Ramp." "It's almost as if we're using county taxpayer dollars to do the litigation for the people on Crystal Lake," Tanner said. "All of a sudden it appears we're trying to craft language that's going to be prohibitive. That's what's concerning me." The Crystal Lake Property Rights Association sued the county and state in 2004 to block the ramp proposed for a location near Mollineaux Road. County administrator Clarke is a board member of Crystal Lake & Watershed Association - separate from the Crystal Lake Property Rights Association - and said he is not attempting to block the boat launch. He pointed to a memo he wrote in 2001 when he was president of the Crystal Lake Watershed Fund - a group that later merged with the watershed association - that expressed support for the DNR's proposed location. Clarke said he was unaware of Olson's memo when he hired Olson to review county zoning. He said Tanner first brought it to his attention after Olson was hired, and he doesn't recall seeing the memo in 2002. "I may have received it, but I probably didn't read it," Clarke said. Olson said the memo was written in an effort to get his firm hired to represent the watershed fund. The organization opted for someone else. Olson said changes in zoning could affect the boat launch, but he said he was not hired to interfere. "I don't oppose the boat ramp; I actually personally support a boat ramp if it's properly sized and designed," Olson said. In a memo Olson wrote to Clarke this month about a "possible conflict of interest," Olson said he doesn't have a conflict, but suggested he avoid work on zoning issues that could affect the boat ramp. Tanner and county commissioner Steve Haugen also question how Olson was hired in November without approval from the board. Board chairman Donald Howard said Olson was hired in accordance with board rules that allow the hiring of an attorney between sessions with the approval of the chair or the vice chair. Howard said Olson needed to be hired because a state zoning expert informed the county he could no longer consult on the zoning amendments. Tanner said he doesn't believe Olson needed to be hired under a provision he said should be used only in emergencies. "You have a number of commissioners who have no idea how we got Olson as our attorney, and that just stinks, frankly," Tanner said. Howard said he was not sure what the county board would do with the planning commission's recommendation, but said the board would talk it over. "If they don't have confidence in the working relationship with the attorney provided for them, that should be something we should talk about," Howard said. "But it will be a board decision." See related story:
|
|
