The Porter County
Stormwater Advisory Board wants to have a better understanding of how
accessible the Izaak Walton League Porter County Chapter’s properties are to
the public as they consider reducing or waiving the Stormwater user fee.
The board at its
meeting Monday voted 5-0 to table the League’s request for an appeal on
seven parcels in different locations throughout Pine Twp. and gave the IWL
up to 90 days to provide details on public access on those lands.
Chapter President
Jim Sweeney said five of the parcels have conservation easements with the
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or a combination of the DNR and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
While the parcels
are in the private hands of the League, Sweeney said the long-term goal is
to have “seasonal access for the public.” The League is seeking funding for
signage, digital maps, parking spaces and trails and applying for more
grants.
“Other options are
available but it’s up to us to raise the money to do the work,” Sweeney
said.
Once further
development takes place, the League intends to make outdoor and educational
programs available for residents. One parcel would give access to the east
branch of the Little Calumet River. Some parts of the property would still
be restricted to only prairie and wetland restoration, Sweeney said.
Board member Matt
Keiser raised the question of whether the parcels are accessible to the
public as that component would weigh on the board’s decision.
“That’s a big part
of what we’re looking at,” he said.
Last month the
board approved a reduction for the Shirley Heinze Land Trust, another
non-profit organization dedicated to land conservation, from $2.75 an acre
to a rate of $1.40 and is making a recommendation to the County Stormwater
Management Board, made up of the three County Commissioners and County
Surveyor Kevin Breitzke, to set a new fee for properties with protected land
and public easements.
A few of the
League’s parcels are being charged the agricultural rate of $2.75 per acre
annually or the residential rate of $120 per year according to the tax code,
said County Department of Development and Stormwater Management Director
Robert Thompson.
According to the
docket the board received from the Department of Stormwater Management, the
League’s fees total to $724.60 on about 120 acres.
The docket also
stated the reason for the appeal is that the parcels are part of the Wetland
Reserve Program.
Sweeney clarified,
as he did for the Chesterton Tribune on Monday, that none of the
properties have been enrolled formally in the WRP, but it is a possibility
for the future.
The “impetus” for
the Stormwater Management Board is water quality protection and the IWL
Chapter works to restore woods, prairies, and wetlands that clean water
before it eventually leaves the property, Sweeney said, which is the reason
for the appeal.
The board voted 5-0
on the motion to table, requesting more information be given for each
parcel. Board member Greg Quartucci asked that the League include how it
manages each property.
Board members
absent were Jeff Good and Scott Severson.
The next meeting
for the Stormwater Advisory Board is set for Monday, Sept. 12. President Jim
Polarek said the board will now be moving to monthly meetings instead of
bimonthly.
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