Changes coming at county lake

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A number of improvements are coming to Marion County Park and Lake — including a hoped-for clearing out of an area used for camper storage.

Lake superintendent Isaac Hett told county commissioners Monday that he wants to hire a tree trimmer to clean up dead trees in the lake’s trailer park before spring. This could make the park more attractive to owners.

The trees he wants taken care of are dead, Hett said.

The Friends of the Lake group has raised enough money to update the restroom and showers, Hett told commissioners.

“Some showers, when you push the button, it stays pushed in and keeps running,” he said.

Also the stalls have holes in divider walls that have been caulked, but no further repairs have been done.

The money also could be used to buy new picnic tables.

Hett also wants to clear out a camper storage area south of the lake house and make lots for storage.

Some campers have been parked there as long as nine years, Hett said. In some cases, he sent letters to camper owners asking them to pay the required storage rent that were returned in the mail.

Lake regulations say rent must be paid every 30 days, and renters have 10 days to pay after getting a letter, Hett said.

“There’s one where it actually has a tree growing up underneath, kind of on the side of it,” Hett said.

Commissioner Kent Becker said he wondered if the county can get a lien on the campers.

Commissioners decided to talk to county counsel Brad Jantz for guidance on getting the campers removed or collecting unpaid rent.

Hett said camping permits were up last season, despite worries that the COVID-19 pandemic would scare people away from spending time at the lake.

“We’ve done good this year,” Hett said.

Hett said he’s been approached by the fire department and talked to sheriff’s deputies over the last couple of years about getting gravel roadways on the south side of the lake named and road signs installed.

When emergency responders are called to that side of the lake, they sometimes have difficulty finding the location they need to reach, Hett said.

Commissioner Randy Dallke told Hett to work with the county dispatch department to get that done.