By now everyone has received notification of the proposed Duck Lake Improvement Board (DLIB) special assessment, twice!

The first letters obviously contained numerous typos, most notably suggesting we were going to pay for another lake’s improvements.  Not the case.  Unfortunately, we were not given a draft of the letter by the County and, well, there you have it.

So to clarify:

The Duck Lake Property Owners Association Officers and Trustees (the Board) has proposed a replacement assessment (link) to raise funds for continued maintenance of our lake – Duck Lake – and to install a whole‑lake aeration system. This assessment will replace the current assessment – it is not in addition to the DLIB assessment we already pay.  Here’s a breakdown:

	Current Annual Assessment	Proposed Annual Assessment
Lake frontage parcels	$143.45	$478.79	($39.90 per month)
Lake access parcels	$36.15	$118.38	($9.87 per month)

 

This assessment is a significant increase.  A group of volunteer property owners from around the lake have been studying and researching ways to address ongoing water quality issues that have persisted for years.  Most of the committee members were NOT board members and they represent owners from around the entire lake.  A water quality study (link) performed by a third-party engineering firm in 2016 was clear:  We need to do something sooner rather than later.

Dredging was considered but is incredibly expensive to the point we could never take on a whole-lake project.  Frankly, it only addresses muck and doesn’t address weed control, fishery improvements or abating the considerable volume of chemicals we dump in our lake.

Although relatively new in this context, aeration is a proven method of addressing solid organic material through the use of aerobic bacteria.  Municipal water treatment systems have used this science for years.  Many newer septic systems also use this approach.  Lake Savers proposal (link) was selected on its merits.  They were the most credible, cost effective approach, with years of experience in this field.  They are pioneers in this technology with no connection to the engineering firm that performed the water quality study in 2016.

We encourage everyone – both for and against the proposed assessment – to come to the public hearings at the Township hall on September 11.   Please follow the links above and become informed and armed with facts.