No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 10/10/1991 - Committee of the WholeCOMMITTEE FETING OF THE WHOLE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1991 A Committee Meeting of the Whole was called to order by Mayor Busse on Thursday, October 10, 1991 at 7:00 P.M. in the McHenry Municipal Center Council Room. The following Aldermen were in attendance: Donahue, Locke, Smith, Serritella. Absent: Bolger, Lieder, Adams, Patterson. City Staff in attendance were: City Clerk Gilpin, City Administrator Peterson, Park Director Merkel. Also in attendance were Robert Kirschner, Senior Planning Officer for Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, and his two assistants Jay Clark and Holly Hudson. Mayor Busse announced that this meeting was being held as a public information meeting regarding the McCullom Diagnostic Feasibility Study which has been conducted over the past two years. He explained that the City acquired the lake bottom back in 1984 when the assets of the Lakeland Park Property Owners Association were transferred to the City. He said that McCullom Lake was an extraordinary resource for the City of McHenry and like any asset, the lake needed to be properly managed. Recognizing this obligation, the City entered into an agreement in 1989 with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) to conduct a Phase I Diagnostic Feasibility study of the lake. This Phase I program was a 50/50 cost sharing program, with the City contributing 50% of the costs and the Federal Government under the Clean Lakes program contributing the other 50%. The City entered into this Diagnostic Study Program for the purpose of diagnosing the lakes current water quality, ecological, recreational problems inherent in a lake, identify some of the causes and evaluate a feasible restoration and protection strategy. The City also wanted to enter into this program to find some type of long-term management approach. Sedimentation, acquatic plant growth, swimming quality, fishery management, and future recreational uses were some of the items of special interest to the Council. They also wanted to identify pollution of the lake and sources of the pollution. The original project was to last two years, but it went on for three years due to the drought of 1989. The purpose of this meeting tonight was to present and review data that was collected by the technical investigations of the NIPC staff. The project concludes December 31, 1991. The Council wanted to hear from area residents what their ideas were for potential uses of the lake. Kirschner and his staff would then answer questions following their presentation. Sixty-one people signed in at the meeting, almost all of whom were from areas directly adjacent to the lake, Subdivisions represented were West Shore Beach, Spojnia Camp, Village of McCullom Lake, Lakeland Park, and Lakewood. Kirschner gave the project background, the lake history and presented a diagnostic study overview. He detailed the McCullom Lake water quality, the water sediment depths, watershed land use, existing lake uses and problems, and presented information on developing a lake management plan. Following his presentation, he answered questions from Aldermen and people in the audience. On a show of hands, it was evident that the people in attendance were interested in seeing the lake used for fishing, swimming, sailboating, sailboarding, and boating with motors restricted to no more than 7 1/2 horsepower. The majority definitely did not want more public access points to the lake. The meeting was tape recorded for anyone interested in listening to the complete 3-hour presentation. The meeting adjourned at 9:50 P.M. dA,G-�CHY CLERK