GLIN==> Lake Erie a focus of town hall meeting

Port Clinton News-Herald

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20100629/NEWS01/6290309


Lake Erie a focus of town hall meeting
BY JAMES PROFFITT<mailto:jproffit at gannett.com> * Staff writer * June 29, 2010

MARBLEHEAD -- State Rep. Dennis Murray, D-Sandusky, hosted a public meeting<http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20100629/NEWS01/6290309> at the Marblehead Lighthouse on Monday, and most of the talk centered on Lake Erie and a shoreline park on its shores.

"Funding<http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20100629/NEWS01/6290309> for state parks, in real dollars, has decreased about 50 percent over the last 15 years," said Murray, who said statewide, parks are more than $500 million behind in maintenance.

Ohio State Parks Acting Chief John Hunter said expenses are up and revenue is down. But even though state parks are struggling, he said, they will continue to strive.

"Our task is to do the best we can with the resources available."

>From 1999 to 2009, Hunter said, the state lost 167 full-time parks jobs, and NatureWorks projects fell from $23 million to $14 million. In addition, revenue from state lodges is down more than $2 million from 1999.

In response, state parks officials have become creative when it comes to raising operating capital<http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20100629/NEWS01/6290309>.

"We increased camping and cottage fees and are now operating camp stores," said Hunter, who said state-generated revenue from those sources was up $10 million during the last decade.

When asked if the state was considering closing any parks, Hunter couldn't promise anything.

"Never say never," he said, though he qualified the answer by saying there were no current plans or discussions pertaining to closing any parks.

The one exception, he said, was a park in Jefferson County that the state will transfer to county ownership.

Ottawa County Commissioner Jim Sass asked Hunter about the state's plans for the Lonz Winery on Middle Bass Island.

Hunter said the state is selecting companies to develop and operate some type of attraction at the site, but no plans are set.

During the almost two-hour meeting, Murray made it clear the health of Lake Erie was a primary topic of concern for him and his constituents. He pointed to the Bayshore Power<http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20100629/NEWS01/6290309> Plant in Oregon.

"It's probably the biggest single threat to fish in Lake Erie," said Murray, who estimated that up to 300 million fry and larvae are killed by the plant annually, along with 46 million perch and walleye. "It probably kills more fish than any other power plant, and possibly all the power plants on Lake Erie."

In addition to the power plant discharge, other important factors affecting water quality in the region's most important natural resource include the dumping of dredging materials into open waters and agricultural pollutants in lake tributaries.

John Watkins, chief of the state's Division of Coastal Management, said officials are searching for possible uses for dredging materials. One solution could be using the materials in the manufacture of building products.

LaFarge proposed the use of its Kelleys Island quarry as a dump for the materials, but the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources decided it probably would not work.

Ohio State Parks Regional Manager Ina Brolis confirmed that dredging on East Harbor could begin soon.

"The project is a go, and we definitely plan on doing it," she said.

Restoration of the beach at East Harbor was discussed, though after several studies, the exact causes of and solutions to long-term erosion are still unresolved.

Sass said he was glad to see the turnout, about 50 people.

"He's obviously got a sincere interest in the lake and East Harbor," Sass said of Murray. "It's a good cause."

Sass said Murray understands the lake and its value to tourism and northern Ohio. But, he added, he doesn't know where the money will come from.

"It's the same old thing," he said, "it all comes down to money."


Kristy Meyer, M.S.
Director of Agricultural & Clean Water Programs
Ohio Environmental Council
1207 Grandview Ave., Ste. 201
Columbus, OH 43212
Direct Phone: (614) 487-5842
OEC Phone: (614) 487-7506
Kristy at theOEC.org
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