Fox Lake residents: Smell, view among problems with Trinski's Island plan

The smell, water displacement and a reduction of lake views were among the complaints voiced Tuesday by Fox Lake homeowners against the proposed rebuilding of the 7-acre Trinski's Island on the Chain O' Lakes.

However, officials with the Fox Waterway Agency said there are few other economically feasible plans to remove growing lake sedimentation and muck threatening to fill navigable water channels around the small island between Pistakee and Nippersink lakes.

“People have been asking when are we going to take care of the sedimentation in these areas,” Fox Waterway Agency Executive Director Joe Keller said. “This is the most cost-effective way to do it.”

Residents who live near the island spoke out against the idea during a public hearing Tuesday at the agency's Fox Lake headquarters.

“The reason we are up in arms is because the island you are constructing is affecting our property,” said resident Todd Ippen. “Why can't we find a place to construct the island that wouldn't affect our property?”

Trinski's Island was once a sprawling habitat for fish and wildlife, but it has slowly eroded over the last 100 years. It currently sits as a 7-acre eyesore near the bridge between Nippersink and Pistakee lakes.

In 2009, the agency developed a plan to rebuild the island as a 65-acre nature preserve using HESCO baskets, stone, root wads and muck dredged from under the water. The plan, which was scrapped in 2010, included parking for boaters and nature trails, officials said.

The new plans would create a 29-acre island set back more than 500 feet from homes. The walking trails and the ability to park boats on the island were removed.

Fox Waterway Agency officials applied for a permit with the Army Corps of Engineers to build the island. The cost and time frame to complete work won't be known until after permits are approved.

If the plan is rejected by the Army Corps or residents, chances are the area may never be dredged to a safe navigable boating depth after sedimentation fills in the area, Fox Waterway Agency Chairman Wayne Blake said.

Scooping muck from the bottom of the Chain and trucking it out of the area would be “six times more expensive,” he said.

“We understand that no one wants this in their backyard,” Blake said. “But we have to try and do what's best for the environment.”