John Behling
Scandia Area Reporter

Concern over increased fishing on Goose Lake led to a discussion at the New Scandia Township Board meeting on Tuesday July 7.

Doug Steitz, who lives adjacent to the public landing on Oldfield Road N., voiced concern that with no designated space, fishermen are parking on private property.

Two solutions were proposed. One was to take a parcel of land owned by the city near the landing and convert it into parking. However, the board was concerned this would only provide for four to six vehicles and trailers.

ìIíve seen as many as 15 rigs in there,î said Bruce Swenson, who also lives on Oldfield Road.
The second option discussed was to create a parking lane on either one or both sides of Oldfield Road.

The town board will examine the issue again at its Tuesday, July 19 meeting.

Parking is not the only issue brought on by increased lake traffic.

Steitz also asked the board to confirm an application issued by the Washington County Sheriffís Department to place swimming buoys across the length of his property.

ìItís a different world today,î Steitz said, citing that conduct on the lake has become aggressive, and disrespectful to property owners.

The board decided not to take action on the application, finding that it was an issue for the sheriffís department, but encouraged Steitz to place the buoys as a deterrent.

The gravel pit off TH-97 and Manning Ave. is shaping up to be a debate over land-usage regulations.

Steve Sadowski, owner of a company that does land clearing, brought a proposal to the planning commission to build a 25,000 square foot building to store his trucks and heavy machinery.

Sadowski said that he would clean up the property, which has been used illegally for dumping, at the estimated cost of $300,000.

In New Scandia Township there is no limit for the size of buildings on properties larger than 20 acres, however there is a stipulation the buildings must be for agricultural use.
Sadowski and his legal counsel argued the business is classified by the state as agricultural, and that the stored property is owned by Mr. Sadowski, and therefore personal no matter what the use is. Sadowski also said he would like to use the property to do wood chipping two weeks a year, 8-10 hours a day.

As an alternative Sadowski could apply to rezone the property, which is currently zoned as agricultural, but Township lawyer David Herbert insisted that agricultural use is qualified by the growing of ìfood or fiber.î
However, that definition is already being brought to court.

The township is facing a lawsuit from Paul Molcahy, who claims that the 5000 square-foot pole building he wishes to build on his property also falls under the definition of agricultural use.

Sadowski said he wants to begin moving on his proposal in the next two weeks, which may mean the two sides are headed for a longer conflict.

ìIím going to buy it no matter what,î Sadowski said. ìIf you make it hard on me, Iím not going to clean it up. Itís going to look like that forever.î

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