On July 10th the following anonymous notice was posted to the association sign on Indianola:
7-10-12
An illegal path has been cut through the woods from “our” park. The entrance to the path is located to the right of the pontoon slips. What are we going to do about this violation of “our” wetlands?
That path from the pontoon area of the Park is not new, and was originally cleared by the developer in 2006 to provide access to 20 lakefront parcels that the developer, Gold Krause, listed for sale. Partly as a response to that clearing, but also in response to claims made by the real estate salesman, the neighborhood initiated a lawsuit against the developer and the initial purchasers of those properties. The lawsuit concluded four years later in an out-of-court settlement between all parties, in which all agreed to maintain an easement from the Park, along the lakefront, to the last parcel (lot 95) at the southeast end of the lake. Specifically:
“grants across each of their respective lots an easement located next to or near Strawberry Lake, for the limited purpose of non-motorized ingress and egress for access to each of the Lots, 95-113, that are east of their burdened lot(s) for the benefit of the owner(s) of those easterly lots.”
The path extending from the Park is legal and is required of the 20 property owners – including the Associations and their three parcels.
For more details about this and many other stipulations contained in the settlement, please see the documents referenced on the lawsuit summary page on the website:
By-Laws lawsuit ends in out-of-court settlement
As a homeowner in the neighborhood, you are part-owner of three of the parcels along this trail, including lot #95 at the far southeast end of the lake. You are permitted to access the easement across these properties. If you get adventurous and decide to take that walk, be sure to wear good shoes or boots, and watch out for poison ivy. As you begin along the path, your first 100 feet will be crossing two parcels (#116 and 115) owned by the Associations. The easiest part of the journey will be walking on two old dock sections that were placed there by the Associations three years ago when a new aluminum dock was purchased by the Park Committee. Beyond that, you will encounter a rough trail littered with some discarded lumber (against DNR/DEQ regulations) and some areas covered with indigenous logs, branches and wood chips (permitted by DNR/DEQ regulations).