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County Parks Committee, mayor discuss user issues at Boscobel boat landing
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BY TRICIA HILL

The Park Committee of the Grant County Board of Supervisors met last Thursday morning in the Administration Building in Lancaster. The committee voted for Boscobel’s Bob Scallon to remain as chairman of the committee for 2014. Scallon gladly accepted the position due to the unsolved user issues going on at the Boscobel boat landing.

“I plan to stay on the committee until the issues are settled and then I will gladly give up my spot,” Scallon said.

The main discussion at the meeting centered around area boat landings, including Boscobel, Glen Haven, Wyalusing, O’Leary, Blue River, Woodman, Millville, Potosi, McCartney, Banfield Bridge, Bridge and Bridge Port.

The committee also set up the date for the county Boat Landing Tour, which they plan to have on May 29 and a meeting time of 8:30 a.m. outside of the Administration Building in Lancaster. If the date were to be cancelled due to reasons caused by Mother Nature, the rain date is currently scheduled for June 5 at the same time.

Boscobel boat landing

Todd Johnson of the DNR was scheduled to speak at the meeting in regard to the Boscobel boat landing. However, he was unable to be in attendance due to a scheduling conflict. However, he did write a letter that was read to the audience by County Clerk Linda Gebhard. Johnson would like to find a time to have a meeting with members of the committee and discuss what needs to be done at the Boscobel boat landing to make it meet the needs of both power boaters and canoeists.

In his letter Johnson wrote, “I want to have a face to face meeting at the landing with park committee to hear what they have to say before we spend money making improvements and writing grants,” Johnson wrote.

Boscobel resident John DuCharme was in attendance at the meeting with some questions regarding the parking issues at the boat landing. The ideal situation in DuCharme’s eyes would be for the canoeists to be in the old boat landing on the east side of Highway 61 and the power  boaters on the west side of Highway 61 in the newer county landing. Scallon then explained to DuCharme that the east side of the road was an issue because of suspected drug trafficking going on over.

“Maybe on some busy weekend we have these dogs that sniff and so does the city of Boscobel, so maybe now we can find out where these drugs are coming from,” Scallon said. “I think we need to show people that we do have law enforcement in Grant County.”

Boscobel Mayor Steve Wetter was also in attendance at the meeting with a booklet of master plans that were designed a couple years ago by a student at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in hopes of finding a way to help the parking situation at the Boscobel boat landing. Wetter is currently working with the DNR to find ways to work with the master plans to find the best situation for the tourists in Grant County as well as the city residents.

“I gave the DNR a copy of the master plan for ideas of things that can be done,” Wetter said. “One suggestion was that at the boat landing where you can take the road that goes around the back side of it, if some of the dirt was taken out it would make it wider so there could be a possibility of a small campground there for the canoeists and the boaters.”

Like DuCharme, Wetter’s suggestion though was for the canoes to be on the other side of the highway. The DNR would even consider putting some fill in there to raise it up some on that side of the road.

As far as the drug concern went, all Wetter said, “There are drugs everywhere; it doesn’t make any difference. Our police go in both sides four to five times a day and they do make stings at night. So they are getting hammered and with the dog coming they are going to get hammered even harder.”

Wetter said he believes that the DNR is willing to make changes and put the money into the area to get it where it needs to be.

“The city is willing to do whatever we can do to help,” Wetter said. “I am here to support tourism and the future of the city of Boscobel.”

No action was taken and the committee will continue to study the situation

Steel roofing bids

The bathrooms at Woodman and Glen Haven boat landings are in need of some new roofing this year and the committee wants them to have steel roofing. They received a couple bids and decided to approve the steel bid by Roger Herbis, whose bid included the removal and disposal of the old shingles.