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| 7/27/2010 4:44:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | "The issue has risen a number of times over the years, and it has never been, in my opinion, tidied up in the correct way." - William Turner, Community Development Authority chairman
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Ownership of Fontana lake frontage again under scrutiny
Village to hire Madison attorney to create title report on properties in question
Alex Koldeway
Correspondent
A Madison law firm will be hired by the Village of Fontana to determine the ownership rights of the lakefront property along Lake Street.
William Turner, Community Development Authority chairman, said the CDA felt it had a responsibility to clear up the issue of who owns the riparian rights to the lakeshore across the street from Gordy's Boathouse and Chuck's Lake Shore Inn.
Fontana resident Lou Loenneke wrote a letter to the village questioning those ownership rights in June.
According to the documents he has read, he has a strong feeling the village owns the riparian rights, he said.
Thomas Whowell, owner of Gordy's, responded with a letter of his own in July, saying the Whowell family (the owners of Gordy's and Chuck's Lake Shore Inn) is certain it owns the rights to the lakefront. A number of documents, including titles, surveys and building permits are proof of his families' ownership of the lakefront property, he said.
Turner said the CDA has approved $5,000 for legal fees to research the topic in a special joint meeting of the Village of Fontana Board of Trustees and the CDA Monday.
"The issue has risen a number of times over the years, and it has never been, in my opinion, tidied up in the correct way," Turner said.
Village Attorney Dale Thorpe said he was asked by the CDA to research the ownership of the lakefront.
"Some questions came up about whether I would feel that I had to make some sort of finding in favor of the village because I work for the village, or that I was friends with Tom Whowell, or that I ate meals at Chuck's occasionally and that it would influence my opinion in some way," Thorpe said. "It would not."
Thorpe said because he has received questions about his impartiality on the subject, it makes sense for the village to hire an attorney who doesn't work for the village or have any connections to local businesses.
Turner said the village would hire an attorney from Foley and Lardner in Madison to create a title report on the properties.
Fontana resident Harry Nelson said he wanted to know why the issue was being brought up at this time.
"Why is the village spending $5,000 to go after something that hasn't been questioned for 50 or 60 years?" he questioned.
Whowell said he doesn't know how a short letter from a Fontana resident earned enough attention from the village to question the ownership rights of the lakefront property.
"If you were to have any kind of questionable decision on this, do you think we are going to abide by that?" Whowell said at the meeting Monday.
"We're going to end up in the Supreme Court," he said. "All of you (Village Board and CDA members) who are friends of mine are probably not going to be my friends any more."
Whowell said his family has been in Fontana for five generations and makes donations to many local causes.
"And you're going to pull the roof in on probably one of the finest families in the village?" he said.
Turner said he has his own views of what the record will show, and he wants it on paper with a letter from Foley and Lardner saying, "This is it guys."
"You (Whowell) and I sat on my deck and you said to me 'We should get this thing clarified and cleared up because I don't want my grandchildren having to take up this issue.'" Turner said. "That's all we're trying to do. There is no action here to try to take away anything from anybody."
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