Municipal piers coming to Fox Lake Lakefront Park

Fox Lake officials have been looking to put in a municipal pier in downtown Fox Lake for years, and now there’s a chance it might happen.

The village will host a fundraiser to raise money needed to purchase and install transient piers at Lakefront Park on Nippersink Drive.

Trustee Jon Mumford said adding municipal piers to the park on Nippersink Lake would be a good way to get visitors off the Chain O’ Lakes and into downtown stores.

“It’s definitely something needed for downtown Fox Lake,” Mumford said. “It will be something to get people off the water, into the park, where they can sit and enjoy a picnic or head downtown and shop in our stores.”

The cost of a transient pier — one that can be dismantled every winter and reinstalled in the water every summer — is about $25 per section, he said.

At that price, it’ll cost about $10,000 to install roughly 5 piers this year, Mumford said.

“Aside from purchasing the pier, there is also the cost of the upkeep of the pier,” he said. “But, by putting in a pier that comes in and out of the water, it should be minimal cost and still allow us to do what needs to be done.”

The village could hold fundraisers to add more piers in the coming years, until about 20 piers are available for boaters, he added.

Mumford said he has spoken with the Fox Waterway Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers on permits required to install the piers.

“They are willing to work with us to get everything we need,” he said. “We also would only have it about 25 feet out into the water, not in the main boating lane.”

Trustee Val Griseta said the idea to bring a pier to downtown Fox Lake is a good one, but she would like more information before the piers are installed.

“I just want all the details involved in the process addressed before we go any further,” she said. “We have only one chance to get this done right.”

The fundraiser is scheduled for Friday, April 15, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Lakefront Park. The cost of the event is $10, and $5 for seniors and children under 10 years old. There will also be a cash bar, a 50/50 raffle and other entertainment.

Tickets will be available at the door or at village hall before the event, Mumford said.