Round Lake to tackle boat speed issue

Round Lake village board members are expected to vote Monday night on whether to repeal a nearly six-year-old local law that was meant to limit boat speed on a private lake.

Under the recommendation of village staff, property owners along the private Wooster Lake would decide whether to have no-wake restrictions for the roughly 100-acre body of water. Located near Route 134, parts of Wooster Lake are within Round Lake, Fox Lake and unincorporated Lake County in Grant Township.

No-wake areas limit boat speed, typically preventing big waves. Wooster Lake has a 5 mph limit, which is more accommodating for passive boating or canoeing, but negates water skiing or being pulled on a tube.

“Some property owners on the lake prefer there be no restrictions and others prefer that there be no-wake,” states a village staff executive summary on the issue. “However, as the lake is only partially within the jurisdiction of the village ... the property owners should resolve their differences, versus regulations that may or may not apply to property outside of the village of Round Lake.”

Round Lake Mayor James Dietz said the police department hasn’t enforced the village’s no-wake ordinance for Wooster Lake since it became effective in September 2005. He said the ordinance hasn’t prevented power boats from being on the lake.

“We’re better off having it off the books,” Dietz said Friday.

Round Lake trustees are scheduled to vote on whether to repeal the law at a meeting 7 p.m. Monday at village hall, 442 N. Cedar Lake Road.

Supporters of Round Lake’s no-wake law for Wooster submitted documents with the village in February. They cited safety and a need to preserve Wooster’s environmental quality among the reasons why the no-wake ordinance should remain.

Wooster Lake property owner Kirk Denz has been outspoken against Round Lake’s no-wake restriction. In 2008, the unincorporated Ingleside resident locked horns with Lake County Board member Bonnie Thomson Carter over the issue during his unsuccessful effort to topple her in the Republican primary.

Denz has admitted to boating at more than 5 mph and creating waves on Wooster. Carter cited environmental concerns in asking Round Lake to approve the no-wake ordinance.