INNISFAIL – The Town of Innisfail is facing the sad reality of having a second problem area in town.
After addressing the problems of rowdyism at Centennial Park citizens in the Dodd’s Lake area are reporting multiple serious issues at Dodd’s Lake.
At town council’s regular meeting on June 24 a citizen’s delegation from the Dodd’s lake community presented alarming details of several disturbing people-related problems.
“Current usage of the area is leading to an environmental impact to the lake, and a solution must be found before our area becomes not enjoyable for the residents of Innisfail,” Dodd’s Lake-area resident Ben Lehr told council. “We've seen fires inside the gazebo, people with barbecues and an open fire and fires along the shoreline.”
He said there have been parties with “open alcohol consumption” and garbage “all over the place,” as well as trespassing on private property along the shoreline and over-parking on 56th Street.
Council was also told there is also “over-fishing” by out-of-town anglers using two or three rods from morning to evening.
“They are not there for sport. They go for the carp that have been put in there illegally I’m sure, because it’s an invasive species,” he said, adding the old boardwalk is now in rough shape. “It’s becoming a safety concern. I see there was some work done on it but there's a lot of loose boards rotting away.”
Glen Carritt, a long-time user of the lake through the Innisfail Waterskiing Club, told council the town needs to look at the “initial initiative” of the program to stock the lake with trout, an initiative intended to increase recreational use of the lake.
“Council at the time felt that the lake was underused, fair enough. I can respect that,” Carritt told council. “But I think it's time as council to revisit that initiative and go over it from A to Z, and consider only local people that need to fish there or to be there because all this initiative has done is scare away local people.
“I've been skiing there for 40 years, and now I've seen the local people be discouraged from being down there,” said Carritt. “They don't come and kayak, they don't come and paddleboard, they don't do any of the stuff that we used to do.
“So, this initiative with allowing extra fishing has, in my opinion, gone south.”
In a letter to the town, the delegation also said the lake’s shoreline is progressively being trampled with “no respect” for wildlife and leading to destruction of nests in the environmental reserve.
The citizens group is recommending that bylaws be defined covering appropriate Dodd’s Lake area usage, specifically guidelines for lake users, and peace officers to better enforce appropriate use.
The letter also calls for the town to consider user fees for non-residents, and more signs to say there is no overnight camping, tents or fires.
The group wants over-fishing policed and the boat launch gate closed at night, at least on weekends, to discourage all-night parties.
At the end of Lehr’s presentation, mayor Jean Barclay recommended that he and his group set up a meeting with senior administrative staff to seriously look into the concerns he outlined, as well as the ones in the group letter.
“I'm a big believer that we fix things through face-to-face dialogue,” said Barclay.
Lehr countered his presentation was just a first step.
Todd Becker, the town’s chief administrative officer, said he would welcome a meeting with Lehr and group members as there were a “few different steps” administration could take to deal with the concerns.
Following Lehr’s presentation, council discussed the issue, and members readily admitted it was one that was worth taking a serious look.
“it was never the intent of council or our municipality to turn this into a Mardi Gras for Dodd’s Lake,” said Coun. Don Harrison. “It was for locals, you know, for kids to come and learn how to fish, a little bit of swimming, but it's morphed, because of the carp, into a fishery and people are coming from all over.
“Maybe re-evaluate the whole intent of the lake and turn it over to administration to work with the group from Dodd’s Lake,” added Harrison. “They're all great people, and I really firmly believe, very optimistically, that they'll be able to work with administration in a way that will benefit our community and everyone around the lake.”
