Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THE NATURAL spring off Lake Road at Little Girl's Point, seen here Tuesday, was a topic of discussion at both the Ironwood Township Board of Trustees and Gogebic County Road Commission meetings Monday. The road commission still owns the land the spring is on, as the paperwork transferring the property to the township was never finalized, and commission officials indicate the current plan is to maintain the status quo.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Ironwood Township — The Lake Road spring continues to be an agenda item at local meetings, with both the Ironwood Township Board of Trustees and Gogebic County Road Commission discussing its future at their respective meetings Monday.
At the township meeting, Ironwood Township Supervisor Jim Simmons reported it appears the township doesn’t actually own the spring located just off Lake Road at Little Girl’s Point.
Although the township board had agreed to take ownership of the land the spring was on, Simmons said it appears the proper paperwork transferring the land from the road commission was never completed.
He said he met with the road commission Monday morning, and was asked if the township was still interested in taking ownership of the property.
“I don’t think we want to get into the well business. There is a lot of hassles and a lot of problems associated with this,” Simmons said.
Although the road commission had previously indicated a preference to either close the spring or give the land to the township, it appears the status quo is going to be maintained for the time being.
Road commission manager Barry Bolich told the Daily Globe Tuesday that the road commission’s current position was to not do anything different from the way it is now.
The township board had voted to accept the transfer of ownership of the property containing the spring in October 2016.
Trustee Kevin Lyons asked Monday why the process wasn’t complete, and Simmons said it appears that neither side really followed up with the necessary paperwork.
“I think there were a lot of assumptions that it happened,” Simmons said.
It was noted during the meeting that the decision to transfer to the property was just before a new supervisor was elected and it could have gotten lost in the shuffle.
The process of transferring ownership of the spring from the Gogebic County Road Commission to the township began in August 2016 after the spring tested positive for coliform bacteria.
The bacteria, while not necessarily dangerous itself, is often used as an indicator that a water supply has been contaminated by outside material, according to officials with the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department.
The officials believe the spring was damaged in the July 11, 2016, storm that caused flooding in parts of Little Girl’s Point.
Signs have been posted at the spring warning that the water shouldn’t be considered potable, or safe to drink.
In November 2016, township workers moved the spring’s exit pipe roughly 21 feet away from its former location to move it out of the right-of-way and the damage to the spring was repaired.
With the township board unsure of the road commission’s position Monday night, they tabled any action on the spring until more information could be gathered.
