Public Use Area at Lake Madison

Posted on Friday, April 3, 2009

The Lake County Commission will decide later, but the Commission held a public hearing Thursday evening on the idea of leasing some of the county owned land at the west end of Lake Madison for a public use area administered by the Department of Game Fish and Parks.

As envisioned at this point there would be fishing and swimming, but no boat ramp, and it would be leased on a year-by-year basis.

County Commissioner Dan Bohl says the proposal is a good one for the County.

He says the one year leasing arrangement allows flexibility for the County to put the property to its best use depending on needs.

Last month the Commission auctioned off a two-year lease for a portion of the property to the lone bidder, John Bowen of Colman for $100 per acre. Lake County Auditor Kay Schmidt says Bowen plans to plant a crop on the land.