Controversy surrounds judge’s White Lake rights decision
The Weekly Adirondack accurately reported New York State Justice Bernadette T. Clark’s June 29 ruling against the White Lake Shores Association (WLSA), ordering the removal of a gate that has been contested for a generation. At the heart of the civil lawsuit (CA2011-002016) was an objection by six named plaintiffs to the gate that was upgraded and improved in 2011 by WLSA on their property known as Beach “A”, directly adjacent to the White Lake Inn.
The judge’s ruling is currently under appeal.
The article contained a quote from a 1926 letter to the Utica Daily Press in which the original grantor said he intended to guarantee public access to the lake from across the property. In doing so, the article exposes the basis of the controversy.
Is Beach “A” a public boat launching site, making it available for free commercial gain, or is White Lake essentially private, as all properties surrounding it are privately held?
Access to the lake for the 234 deeded properties and 50 associate members of WLSA from the surrounding area is guaranteed according to current covenants.
WLSA President, Frank Fellone, recently stated that “our primary purpose is to honestly represent offshore residents within the 400 acre tract of land surrounding White Lake in the best interest of the community as a whole. It was never the intention of WLSA to obstruct any resident or associate member from access to the lake. The purpose of the gate was to improve the existing Woodgate Fire Lane and to provide a boat launching site that was safer and more easily managed. It also served as a reminder that Beach ‘A’ is not a public launch site.”As owner since 1967, WLSA pays property taxes and liability insurance, and maintains the beach areas for the 234 residents within the tract and all associate members. A gate of one form or another had been on the site for many years.
Community leaders from WLSA, the Adirondack White Lake Association (AWLA), and the Woodgate and Forestport Fire Departments are trying to bridge the differences with the plaintiffs through good faith efforts. Both Fire Departments that require access to the water across the property have attested that the Beach “A” improvements were beneficial and improved safety for vehicles entering and exiting onto Route 28.
“We thought we had buy-in from the entire community before the launch-site was improved, including representatives for the plaintiffs who were present at the on-site planning meeting,” said one of the WLSA Board Members.
A current criminal contempt motion recently filed by the plaintiffs against the officers of WLSA and motions for appeal seem to indicate that the controversy will continue in the courts in the foreseeable future.
At stake are continually rising legal costs and the less measurable but profoundly more important cost of community well-being.
What occurs over the next season will determine the overall spirit and health of White Lake for another generation.
