Water issue in Wauconda:

A Wauconda trustee on Tuesday expressed concern that Mayor Frank Bart had discussed the village's plans to obtain Lake Michigan drinking water with a representative from the agency that controls the supply, despite Bart's pledges to abstain from negotiations on the matter. "It was disturbing," Trustee Lincoln Knight said during Tuesday's village board meeting, referring to Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency member Terry Weppler's recent comments about a conversation he had with Bart. In response, Bart said he talked to Weppler about the proposal as part of a broader conversation. The conversation wasn't a negotiation, Bart said. Bart insisted he hasn't interfered in the village's talks with the agency, and he voiced strong support for the plan. Village officials could learn this summer if the water agency board will expand its membership to include Wauconda.