Posted: 6/26/02

Closing FL park boat ramp needs more study

There are some in Forest Lake who are clinging to the past with hope that major change wonít come to Forest Lakeís downtown. I can understand that feeling but realize that change will come and it doesnít necessarily have to be bad.

But change should not be made simply for change itself. As the city of Forest Lake moves ahead in reviewing plans with private developers for major downtown changes, we hope long range impacts are carefully thought out.

When the fate of the downtown boat launching ramp is mentioned, we see little in long range city thinking regarding ways to replace it.

Under one of the current proposals for downtown change along the north end of Lake Street, the boat ramp could well be closed. That is the plan the city will need to accommodate if a restaurant-banquet facility that is proposed on what is today municipal parking area is built.

Because of the major changes and new buildings included in downtown proposals there simply wouldnít be room for boat trailer parking.

So, it appears, the boat ramp would have to go?

It may not be that easy, not if the backers of a petition questioning the decision have any impact on Forest Lake City Council.

After just a week of circulating a petition, Del Branum and Tom Whitacre have secured more than 200 signatures opposing the closing of the public boat ramp at Lakeside Park.

Branum is a lifelong city resident, business owner, former fire chief and a regular guy who likes to drop his boat in the lake a few times each summer. Whitacre lives in the West Bay Condos next door to the boat ramp.

ìIíve got a boat, I like to use the lake and I pay taxes to use the lake,î Branum says.

Branum doesnít live on the lake, but he says there are many local lake residents who use the downtown ramp each spring and fall to launch and remove their boats. The two DNR boat ramps beyond Willow Point get heavy use and are limited in parking area, he adds.

If the city moves ahead with the Lakeside Park closure, there should be some study or a way to replace this launch area, he says.

ìLetís have another one before we close this one,î Branum says.

He wonders if planners have really considered a compromise that would allow the development while keeping the boat ramp open to public use.

ìWhy canít it (the restaurant) be designed around the boat ramp,î Branum wonders? ìEven if it (parking area) has limited boat trailer parking, so what?î

ìI was absoultely amazed at the number of people who didnís know that it might close,î Whitacre said. ìI just canít see them closing it.î

While Branum and Whitacre wish to preserve public use of the ramp for local residents, they also believe the ramp has a value to the business community and remains the gateway to the lake which is this townís best natural asset.

ìAs a businessman, what an attraction we have,î Branum says. ìThis is our most natural attraction and it brings a lot of people to town.î

Branum and Whitacre believe many of the out of town lake users are spending money when they visit here, be it in form of gas, food and bait. ìThis council doesnít seem to care about that,î Branum says.

The petition, which began last week, asks the city leaders to keep the boat ramp open. It will be presented to the city council this summer.

ìIíd like to have a couple of thousand names,î Branum said. ìI think that will have some impact.î

As lakeshore property continues to become more valuable, Branum and Whitacre wonder how the city can ever replace this landing. The cost of buying land is becoming prohibitive, the two men said.

In some respects the city is caught in a Catch 22 of trying to promote business development and while maintaining public use of the lake..

It leads Branum to wonder: ìWe are trying to promote the city by taking away a natural asset?î

Branum and Whitacre have some good points.

If interest in saving the boat ramp is growing as the two men say, the city council may be faced with a tough problem. It wonít be easy to meet the needs of proposed developers while keeping citizens happy.

If the restaurant project moves forward, we hope the city council and its EDA board take the time to consider possible options before the hard decisions need to be made. A formal study, either by the council, EDA or park board, may be a way to head off a brewing controversy.

Change seems imminent for our downtown, but city leaders owe it to all local residents to make sure the plan that goes forward makes sense and is in the best interests of all parties.

If the early indications of this petition drive hold true, the public at large is saying the same thing.

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