Parks board approves snow fence proposal

MICHIGAN CITY At its meeting Tuesday night at City Hall, the Park Board approved a proposal which will allow home owners to install snow fences on city land to encourage dune growth towards the beach and prevent blowing sand from piling up on homeowner properties.

Parks Superintendent Jan Orlich said the proposal was one of the recommendations submitted by SmithGroupJJR, who completed an ecological assessment report for Sheridan Beach and the Esplanade.

Board member Max Barrick questioned whether the fences would be uneven, but Orlich said the Parks Department will tell interested homeowners where they can place the fences, which she said should be 50 feet north of the nearest fore-dune.

Barrick also questioned whether the city would be held liable if neighboring homeowners, without snow fences, experienced problems, but Orlich said the homeowners should not experience any more sand problems than they are already facing. She also added that installation of the fences will be voluntary.

The board approved a $10 increase to replace lost parking stickers for Washington Park. The Parks Department decided to approve the rate increase, which will increase the cost for a replacement sticker to $20, as a means of discouraging people from attempting to acquire more stickers when they have not actually lost the original.

In the past several years, the Parks Department has had to issue 30 to 35 replacement stickers.

In Orlichs report to the board, she said Wissco Irrigation Inc., which installed the irrigation system at Westcott Park, has verbally agreed to a five-year warranty for the system. Orlich said she began talks with Wissco after she had discovered leaks in the lines. Written confirmation of Wisscos agreement with the city is pending.

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Parks board approves snow fence proposal