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| Sherwood Pond |
Following an extensive discussion of the proposed ban on swimming at the pond during the July 25 meeting, trustees said they wanted to hear the opinions and ideas of township residents regarding the pond. Signage at the pond currently warns residents that they are swimming at their own risk and there is no lifeguard on duty.
Treasurer Bart Patterson opened the discussion of the issue during the study session prior to the meeting. He said he had discussions with several people about prohibiting swimming at the pond. He told the board members he has a concern about going immediately from allowing swimming to prohibiting it.
“My concern is if we say it is prohibited now, then we have to enforce that. I'm envisioning people getting police called on them and handing out citations for swimming in a pond that there has always been swimming at,” he said.
Patterson said he understood that the water was not being tested for bacteria and contamination and might pose a health hazard, but an alternative to banning swimming might be increased signage including a notification that the water was not being tested for safety. He added that if swimming is to be banned, the swim buoys should be removed “so that we're not encouraging it.”
Trustee Matt Oddy explained that his concern in suggesting the pond be closed was the increase in reported drownings in municipal recreational facilities near the township. “My concern is for us to learn from what's happening around us,” Oddy said. He reminded the board members that the pond is not engineered as is required for any new pond installation to ensure that depths and slopes allow swimmers a means of leaving the water in case of an emergency. Oddy suggested the township pond was not in compliance with the current pond ordinance in the township.
Following a comment by Trustee Peggy Morgan that closing the pond would be “a tragedy,” and that there had been no incidents during her time on the board, Trustee Don LaPorte explained that he has seen tragedy at the pond firsthand during his 17 years with the fire department, several times while Morgan was on the board.
“Some of the worst calls I've been on have been at that park with little children near drowning. I've driven ambulances to the hospital with police escorts trying to save their lives,” he said. “There have been some really serious accidents out there that I'm sure nobody ever intended to happen. I personally would like to see us take some of that ARPA (American Recovery Plan Act) money and build a splash pad right off Sumpter Road at Graham Park,” he said.
LaPorte said he had called Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara in an effort to determine the cost of a splash pad. He said he was informed the Van Buren amenity cost $1.5 million. “It is always packed,” LaPorte added. “It is very heavily used.”
“I don't know why you are going to the extreme of closing the pond and not allowing people to swim. They know they swim at their own risk and people with little children should be responsible for them,” she said. In response to board members' expressed concerns about liability for public safety and financial damage to the township, Morgan responded that “lawsuits should have no bearing on opening or closing the pond.”
Oddy corrected what he said was Morgan's inference that the board members were “doing something wrong.”
“We are trying to protect the public and the township,” he said. “I brought this up because we had three people drown within 20 miles of our borders. That's my concern. We're seeing the recipe for disaster,” Oddy said.
The board members scheduled the public hearing on the issue for tonight at township hall.
