Lake Chaparral residents present case for county help

***Lake Chaparral residents ask the Linn County Commission for more help in cleaning up their community. (Lake Chaparral website)***

By Charlene Sims

MOUND CITY – Two residents from the Lake Chaparral development spoke with the Linn County Commissioners on Monday, Nov. 10. Their presentation came a week after the commission turned down a county assistance application from the development seeking help with mowing the lake’s dam.

Lake Chaparral resident Dean Norton told the commissioners that he was at the commission meeting on behalf of the Lake Chaparral board of directors to share the concerns that the board consistently hear from our property owners.

Norton told the commissioners Lake Chaparral has over 1,500 properties, making it one of the largest residential communities in Linn County and a significant contributor to the county’s tax base.

“Many property owners feel that while the county depends on our tax dollars, the level of support we receive does not reflect our contribution,” Norton said. “Every property owner, whether full-time or part-time, contributes to county services, law enforcement, roads and infrastructure, as wells to local retail, restaurants, and service industries. We are simply asking for support and responsiveness that match the scale and impact of our community.

“Communication from county departments has often been inconsistent or unclear, particularly regarding zoning, sanitation, permitting and enforcement. While several individuals within these departments have been helpful, frequent staff turnover, leadership changes have disrupted continuity, causing priorities and guidance to shift. We respectfully request regular structured communication such as quarterly coordination meetings to avoid confusion and insure consistent progress.”

Norton continued saying that illegal blackwater dumping remains a serious health concern. He said that while violations were documented, enforcement frequently lags. He said that unsafe living conditions – such as campers being used as permanent residences, unpermitted structures and unsafe electrical and sewage setups – continue to grow.

He pointed out that the county is responsible for enforcing sanitation code. The property owner’s association (POA) depends on that enforcement to protect the health and safety of the development’s residents. He added that over the past five years, tragic incidents have occurred.

“Linn County codes expressly prohibit year-round living in campers. These deaths and injuries could have been prevented through proper code enforcement,” said Norton.

Norton then showed a photo of the inside of a camper at Lake Chaparral. He explained that the resident of that camper stated that his heating was safe. He showed the commissioners a kerosene heater sitting on top of a portable refrigerator which was plugged into the camper’s electrical system. The camper’s electrical system is overloaded, and he pointed out the extension cord there and various coffee pot and other things plugged into that extension cord.

“These campers are not designed for that kind of overload,” said Norton. “And that’s the problem that we run into.”

He said that three campers had burned this year and luckily no one was in them at the time. He said that while he was not sure of the cause of these fires, he guessed that they are frequently caused by electrical overload.

Moving on to the next issue, Norton said, “Our community faces issues with trespassing, theft, vandalism, dumping and drug activity. The sheriff’s office has been outstanding, responsive, professional and supportive. The problem arises when cases reach the county attorney’s office where many charges do not progress.

“Offenders often return quickly, creating the perception of no consequences. We need stronger follow-through and prosecution to protect our residents and deter repeat offenders. “

Norton then touched on the request from Lake Chaparral for mowing assistance, he told the commissioners,

“Our request was made with the full understanding that we would be responsible for the cost of fuel and materials. The intent was not to seek ongoing or yearly assistance. We are simply looking for a one-time jumpstart on our dam-clearing project, which we aim to restore to a condition that we can maintain annually without further assistance.

“In closing, Lake Chaparral is asking for fair and consistent county support, reliable communication through staff changes, enforcement of sanitation, zoning and building codes, prosecution of repeat offenders, recognition that lake communities are major contributors to Linn County. We want to work together to keep Lake Chaparral and all Linn County communities, safe, healthy and thriving.”

Lake Chaparral resident Kate Brenner spoke next to the commissioners. She said she was speaking on behalf of herself and many other Lake Chaparral property owners.

She told the commissioners that residents at Lake Chaparral have worked to clean up their community and improve safety. She said that the residents had worked to turn the community back into a place where residents can thrive, not just survive.

She talked about the partnership between the residents and the Linn County Sheriff's Office and sincerely thanked the office for their willingness to listen and work with them.

Brenner also complained that the courts and county attorney that have failed to bring charges or follow-through on prosecutions for those who repeatedly violate laws, codes and community standards. She said that this inaction sends a clear message that the safety and investment of the lake’s residents are not priorities. She said that it also discourages those that are trying to make positive change.

Commissioner Alison Hamilton asked that the Lake Chaparral assistance request be added to the agenda next week. She said she was looking back through the request for mowing from the previous week and did not see anywhere on the request where Lake Chaparral was going to pay for the fuel for the dam-mowing project.

Hamilton said that she still stood behind her vote not to approve the mowing request from Lake Chaparral because the road crew has not yet hit all of the county roads.

“So there’s an issue for me countywide with the mowing. So I’d like to look into that. So, I don’t think it was a personal attack on Lake Chaparral as far as we’re not going to help you with that dam,” said Hamilton. “It was specifically regarding mowing, and we haven’t hit my district.”

Hamilton said that the commissioners had nothing to do with the county attorney’s actions but maybe quarterly meetings could be held with the Linn County Planning and Zoning director Jenny Cummings. Hamilton told Norton and Brenner that she did hear their concerns.

Commission Chair Jim Johnson added that his stance was that he had talked to Public Works Director Jesse Walton multiple times about taking on extra work and his guys are overloaded right now now. They can’t get done everything they need to do and that’s where he stood on the issue now.

At the Nov. 3 meeting, Johnson said his opinion was that it was private property, and if the county was to do that, it would open it up to similar requests. He asked Commissioner Jason Hightower, “What if you need your dam mowed on your farm?”

Hightower, who was present at the Nov. 3 meeting but not present at the Nov. 10 meeting, had been more understanding. He suggested that the commission stay more open-minded about the request. He suggested that while this is something that the county could not do this year, they might revisit it next year.

When the project was presented by Walton on Nov. 3, he told the commissioners that it would probably be a week’s worth of work and he did not want it to become a yearly thing that they expect.

Norton spoke from the audience at the Nov. 10 meeting and said that Lake Chaparral was only asking if the county could do this when it would fit in their time schedule. He said he did not know what the mower reach was but if the county machinery could reach over 12 to 20 feet over the edge, it would really help and it would only take one or two passes. He said it would really help their situation.