Wednesday, January 14, 2009

CITIES AGREE TO LAKE BOARD RESOLUTION

We are proud to finally announce success on establishing a Lake Board to take care of the invasive weed problem on Walled Lake. On November 18, Walled Lake City Council approved the Lake Board resolution contingent on the Novi City Council doing the same. This past Monday, January 12th, after extensive research and consultation with experts over the last several weeks, the Novi City Council unanimously approved the formation of a Lake Board for Walled Lake.

Our deepest appreciation goes out, not only to Mayor Landry and the council members for their thoughtful and respectful consideration of this proposal, but to all of the volunteers and supporters who rallied to make this happen over the last seven months. We also remain mindful of the lakefront residents who may have hoped for a different outcome and were wrestling with concerns regarding this approach. What was emphasized repeatedly in the meeting on Monday was that the Lake Board is the ONLY way that the problems of the lake can be uniformly addressed and managed, and the ONLY way that specific questions about timing, treatment, and assessment can begin to be answered.

The next step will be for the City Councils to select their own representatives (one from each city) and begin reviewing submissions for the lakefront property representative who will sit on the Board. A subsequent Lake Board meeting (held in short order) will then begin the process of fielding a formal engineering study of the lake with which to solicit bids from multiple lake management companies.

We will keep you posted as the Lake Board activity progresses. There is a possibility that an initial "lite" treatment could begin already this summer but that, of course, is yet to be determined.

Thanks to this momentous decision, we can all look forward to a much improved lake lifestyle for many years to come.