“I admit I made a terrible mistake,” said David Klett to the County Board on November 15 at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting.
What Klett was referring to were his actions taken over the last two years to erect erosion controls (gravel bars) on the road at the Clearwater Lake boat landing to divert sediment from going into the lake and instead drain onto his property.
Klett, from Eden Prairie, has had a seasonal residence right next to the landing for the last 17 years. He came before the county board on Tuesday, November 15, and asked to speak during the public comment period.
For the last five years, Klett said he had met with and talked to county staff about the sediment that had been draining into Clearwater Lake from the public boat landing. “I was watching tons of sediment run into the lake. I made a bad decision,” he said, “and constructed gravel water bars to divert the sediment onto my land.”
Klett said he would take a bucket and shovel and load the sediment that had run onto his property and load up a wheelbarrow and take it to the top of the boat landing and distribute the residue there. He said while he wasn’t a professional at this type of work, over the years he had lots of experience in erosion control and didn’t believe he was causing any harm.
On June 16, 2014, Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken wrote Klett a letter regarding his tampering with the boat landing at Clearwater Lake and warned him to stop his actions. Klett said he agreed to do so, but after the county took no action to correct the erosion, he began his work again.
“The structures I built were unauthorized,” said Klett. But because he didn’t hear anything from the county, he said, “I assumed my work wasn’t causing any problems for the county or the public.”
On Tuesday Klett sounded remorseful. “I went back on my word to the county attorney and I regret that.”
Hicken sent Klett a letter on November 4 telling him he no longer could use the public access at Clearwater Lake.
“I wrote you on June 16, 2014, regarding the tampering with the boat landing at Clearwater Lake. At that time, you had taken it upon yourself to alter the surface of the landing and had erected ‘no parking’ signs. You were asked to cease work on the ground and to remove the signs. You were notified that the boat landing is the property of Cook County and ‘no other party may alter the site or restrict parking there unless at the direction of Cook County.’
“This summer,” wrote Hicken, “you were again suspected to have made alterations to the Clearwater boat landing. These suspicions were verified by surveillance set up by the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office. Trenches and ditching you dug this summer altered the way the public could use the landing, and, by one report, caused damage to the underside of someone’s personal vehicle. In addition, the damage you caused had to be repaired by the Highway Department, using resources ultimately provided by the taxpayers of Cook County.
“Because you have caused damage to this public property, you are being trespassed from Clearwater Lake Landing. You will be served with Trespass Notice if you haven’t already received it. Any use of the Clearwater boat landing, or even your presence upon it, is in violation of the Trespass Order and unlawful. That conduct may be used as the basis of a criminal complaint.”
“The action that was taken (by the county attorney) came without any warning,” Klett said. “A letter or an email would have been a wake-up call. …This does not mean I shall be absolved of any enforcement action,” he said, adding he would make restitution to the county and would agree to perform voluntary community service to atone for his actions.
“The main reason I’m here is for showing impatience and showing disrespect,” he said as he apologized for his actions.
At that point, the county’s board chair Heidi Doo-Kirk stopped Mr. Klett from talking. She said she had allowed him extra time for his presentation and she thanked him for coming before the board. She told him to contact his county commissioner if he wished to pursue the matter further.
But as of now, Mr. Klett isn’t allowed to use or trespass on the Clearwater Boat Landing.
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