Crystal Lake Park District official questions use of public funds for $100K lake weed harvester

CRYSTAL LAKE – A Crystal Lake committee wants to use tax dollars to buy a $100,000 weed harvester to clear the lake of seagrass, a proposal one Crystal Lake Park District official says isn’t the best use of public funds for the partially privately-owned lake.

The Lake Advisory Committee will present the proposal to the park district during a public meeting set for Thursday. The Park District owns 94% of the bottom of the lake, Main Beach and West Beach. The split ownership over the lake between private and the park district means joint decisions must be made for purchases such as the proposed weed harvester.

The Park District’s Committee of the Whole meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at 1 E. Crystal Lake Ave., Crystal Lake.

The committee proposed a weed harvester that would collect floating Eelgrass in the privately-owned lake. Eelgrass is a native weed found in Crystal Lake that is vital to the health of the lake.

When boats drive through the plants, they get chopped up and left floating on top of the lake. Lake Advisory Committee members said that can be unsightly for property owners along the lake and gives off a phosphorus scent when decaying, according to the proposal.

The purchase was proposed in May for a machine called the Eco-Harvester, which is sold by WeedersDigest.com for just less than $110,000.

Crystal Lake Park District commissioner Cathy Cagle said that only boat owners using Crystal Lake and lake property owners will benefit from this use of tax dollars.

“There’s 143 people who own property on the lake, there’s tens of thousands of people within the park district,” Cagle said. “It’s not in their best interest.”

The Crystal Lake Park District’s budget is already set for this year, which does not include the purchase of a weed harvester.

The Lake Advisory Committee is an independent group meant to improve lake management and communication between the public and the Park District. Committee President Gregg Kobelinski is also the president of the Shoreline Property Owners Association.

Currently, the Park District hires an independent contractor to harvest the weeds a couple times a year.

“On a private lake, everybody should contribute and hold their own responsibility and the Park District should, too. I’m in favor of that.” Cagle said.

Another way to fund the harvesting is to increase boat sticker fees, instead of having all Crystal Lake tax-payers support the purchase.

Cagle argues that purchasing the weed harvester could set off long-term expenses for taxpayers such as maintenance, storage and labor.

If the Lake Advisory Committee agrees on the weed harvester purchase, it will be presented to the board for final approval on July 20.