Date: August 11, 2016 Re: Proposal to enact a Summer Pass Program that would allow non-residents swimming and fishing privileges on all four lakes in the Lake Saint Clair community. Purpose The purpose of this proposal is to encourage the residents and Board of Trustees to enact a Summer Pass program that would allow for non-residents to take part in a summer program that would permit non-residents the use of the lake for swimming and fishing throughout the months of May and September. This program would not only benefit non-residents by allowing them to take advantage of the benefits of swimming and recreation within their own community, but would benefit Lake Saint Clair by allowing them to raise money for repairs within the community by charging a fee for the use of a Summer pass. Current Lake Policy Currently, under the Lake Saint Clair policy, visitors are to be in the company of land owners when visiting the lake for the purpose of swimming or fishing. If one is found to be outside of the company of the land owner, then they are said to be trespassing on private property. There is a security guard who patrols the community to enforce said trespassing, but with twenty-seven miles to patrol and many roads to cover with over 1000 residents in 325 homes, it is next to impossible to weed out non-residents. The current security guard works approximately 25-30 hours a week, on average, which makes it impossible to patrol the community and keep nonresidents from using all four lakes for swimming and fishing or recreational water sports. Lake Saint Clair has two entrances that serve as exits as well that motorists can enter and leave from freely. In 2005, Lake Saint Clair removed a guard shack that served as a check-in for nonresidents to leave their name and the home or resident that they intended to visit. The shack was removed when the road was repaved as the shack was in need of repair and had begun to decrease greatly in use. For many, this was said to be the decline in security in the Lake Saint Clair community. In 2012, the Saint Clair City Swimming Pool saw its last season as it did not meet handicap standards and the city made an executive decision to close the pool rather than make the necessary repairs to allow for the pool to remain open. The Saint Clair pool closing coupled with the lack of security and the ease of accessibility of Lake Saint Clair has made the lake a hot spot for local teens and others alike during the summer months. Students and youth who are experiencing summer break and the heat of summer are looking for a way to cool off and congregate with their friends are doing so in Lake Saint Clairs lakes. We have no way to remove
Lake Saint Clair Board of Trustees
August 11, 2016 Page 2 those trespassing and we are experiencing abundantly higher numbers of trespassers, particularly since the town swimming pool is no more. Upon surveying twenty local residents from the Lake One Swimming Hole, 95% of those surveyed had witnessed non-residents using the lake area. This alone tells us that there is a need for the implementation of a program to monitor the use of the lake by non-residents. This system for monitoring lake use is not only for the safety of those using the lake, but to continue to allow residents who pay lake dues and usage fees to be able to use the lakes for swimming, fishing, and recreation without the congestion and lack of cleanliness. By implementing a Summer Pass Program we can allow members of the community to take part in the use of our lakes while making them reasonably aware of the rules and regulations to using the lakes safely, fishing responsibly, and being courteous to everyone, both residents and non-residents while doing so. Proposed Lake Policy I propose that we implement a Summer Pass Program that would allow non-residents to purchase car stickers the same as residents for the months of May through September for the use of all four lakes in the Lake Saint Clair community. Passes could be sold for $12 a month or $60 a season. The money raised from the Summer Pass Program could be used to benefit the road paving effort which is in great need of funding. As previously stated, I surveyed twenty local residents who were visiting the Swimming Hole at Lake One, I found that of those twenty, 80% of those residents were in favor of the pass program. 100% of the residents surveyed felt that Lake Saint Clair could certainly benefit from the funding accrued from the summer pass program. 90% of the residents felt that implementing a summer pass program could positively affect our community. So, is it possible for residents and non-residents to use the lake simultaneously? Well, we have been for years. Personally, I live on the lake and less than 200 feet from the Swimming Hole, I frequently see non-residents using the Swimming Hole. The question now is, how can we as a lake community come together with the community as a whole and benefit from the use of our lakes, while realizing that there is a need for summer recreation within the community. With the closest pool twenty miles away for many, it is unreasonable to assume that teenagers and those on a tight budget will make the drive and pay for the use of water facilities. How can Lake Saint Clair benefit from the Summer Pass Program? By implementing a pass program, our security guard could easily spot registered lake users by easily identifiable stickers that would be sold as part of the pass program and placed on windows of pass-holder vehicles, much like residents. By selling passes, Lake Saint Clair can earn money for up-keep of the lake from use by non-residents and residents alike. If only twenty passes were sold at $60 per pass, this alone would put into circulation another $1200 for upkeep and road maintenance which would be welcomed funding in a community with twenty-seven miles of road to maintain and upkeep.
Lake Saint Clair Board of Trustees
August 11, 2016 Page 3 Cost The cost for this program is minimal on the part of Lake Saint Clair. The only cost that Lake Saint Clair would incur to start this program is the cost of the stickers to place on the vehicle of the pass-holders. This program is an inexpensive program with the possibility of a large return. Per the secretary who orders the stickers for the vehicles, the current cost per sticker is $0.30 and each resident pays $1.00 per vehicle, earning Lake Saint Clair $0.70 per sticker. The same fee could be charged for non-residents as well in conjunction with the Summer Pass Program fee. Case Study/ Interview On August 10th, 2016 at 6:00 pm, I interviewed the Lake Saint Clair Security Guard, Spike, who is also a retired law enforcement officer with over twenty years of experience in law enforcement and security. Spike said that during the summer months, traffic increases by at least fifty percent and that it is nearly impossible to enforce trespassing laws when there are so many non-residents frequenting the lakes. Spike said that at best, he hopes to keep the fighting and under-age drinking to a minimum. Spike felt that with the implementation of a Summer Pass Program, he could eliminate the worry of some non-residents that are frequenting the lake for the true purpose of recreation and swimming or fishing and focus on those who are using our community for less than desirable purposes such as underage drinking and drug use. Spike also felt that implementing a program that encouraged positive use of the lake by families and teens that were interested in summer recreation would deter the use of the lake by others with less than wholesome agendas. Our goal is to promote a community that serves our residents in a way that allows them to safely use the lakes for swimming, fishing, and boating purposes, said Spike. After that, I see no reason why we cant allow non-residents to use the lake as long as they are doing so in a manner that is acceptable and responsible. Spike said that as the lake community has grown exponentially in the past ten years, security has become an issue. The lake has become a bit of a hang-out for youth, particularly in the summer. Spike did mention that as the city pool closed, he did notice a rise in both families and teens frequenting the lake for swimming purposes. He said, When it is 95 degrees out and a local family is looking to cool off on a summer afternoon after work, a Summer Pass Program could really pay off for both the family and Lake Saint Clair. Timeline As summer 2016 comes to a close, the fall and winter are a great time to advertise and sell passes for the 2017 summer season for the Summer Pass Program. There is very little overhead in terms of preparation as ordering the car tags/stickers is the greatest prep work involved which has a turn-around time of approximately one week from the date the order is placed. The focus for this program should be advertising and spreading the word that a pass program will be offered. This
Lake Saint Clair Summer Pass Program
August 11, 2016 Page 4 is a great opportunity for the community of Lake Saint Clair and for the community of Saint Clair together and that needs to be the focus. Conclusion My proposal for implementing a Summer Pass Program for non-residents of Lake Saint Clair to utilize lake privileges throughout the summer months of May through September would be a great way to positively affect our community and raise funds for the upkeep of Lake Saint Clair while working to keep track of those using the lake during summer months. First, being able to offer community members a solution to swimming during hot, summer months is great for families and youth in our community as we no longer have a city pool. Next, we have an abundance of non-residents who use our lakes for swimming and fishing. If we could somehow offer a pass program that would allow us to keep track of those families and youth who are utilizing those passes and the lakes, that would allow us to know who is entering our private community and perhaps cut down on those entering who are doing so for reasons other than recreation. Then, by enacting a Summer Pass Program we could raise funds necessary for the upkeep of our community that would positively and directly affect our community in a positive way. Our roads and landscaping could use the extra funds from a Summer Pass Program. With security stretched thin due to limited funds and a growing population with more miles of road than one security guard can possibly keep up with, implementing programs that allow community members to take responsibility for their own actions and responsibility for their own program, this could be a positive change. If non-residents are paying for their pass in the program, they will have a vested interest in keeping the lake clean and free from debris, trash, and they will be more likely to follow fishing rules as they will be likely to return more frequently. People tend to take pride in things that they are responsible for. After surveying the residents in Lake Saint Clair, it seems as though they are in agreement that not only can we all share the lake privileges with residents and non-residents, but that this program could be very successful and profitable for Lake Saint Clair if presented properly. The residents felt that this program could be very successful and many of them knew people who would be interested in purchasing a summer pass. Many residents felt that this program would not only be successful for Lake Saint Clair and that it would be a great success for raising funds for the lake to use for the purpose of upkeep, but that this could also aid security in knowing who is frequenting the lake and who is there for the purpose of recreation. Residents felt that if nonresidents were willing to purchase a pass to use the lake for the summer that they were far less likely to be using the Lake Saint Clair community for undesirable purposes. The above considered, it is my proposal that the Summer Pass Program is implemented during the Summer 2017 season.