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Over the next two months, Silver Lake will be exploring putting in a pier at its public boat launch off of Cogswell Drive on the north side of the lake.
And if it can’t figure out how to do it, the result may be closing that launch to the public, village President Roger Johnson said.
The village would like to put in a public pier so boats will stop docking at the adjacent Wisconsin Lakeland Property Association piers. The association piers are private property to be used by association members only.
Last summer the village put a portable restroom at the public launch to discourage people from using a similar facility on the private assocation property. The pier would be an extension of that effort.
But no one is quite sure if a pier would fit at the east end of the public lanuch area in such a way that would allow enough space to launch larger boats.
Trustee Barbara Ironside raised the issue because she wanted to see the village address the problem before the boating season begins.
“We owe it to them (the association) as taxpayers to do what can be done … and not put it off,” Ironside said.
Not causing problems for the property owners association is so important that if the situation cannot be worked out to prevent future trespassing, the village will likely shut down the launch, Johnson said.
“If we can’t get it to work, it will have to be closed to the public,” Johnson said of the proposed pier and the village launch.
Trustee Chris Willkomm, who is the chairman of the Public Works and Buildings Committee, agreed to measure the site, investigate pier options, research insurance costs and report back to the full board.