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Have raze orders for Clear Lake homes been put on ice?

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MILTON TOWNSHIP — More than five weeks after a Dec. 31 deadline for the removal of three houses swamped by Clear Lake, all three homes remain.

In July 2010, the town of Milton issued raze orders for the homes that have been surrounded for more than two years by water from the perpetually swollen Clear Lake.

Despite deadlines in the raze orders that the homes' owners needed to submit demolition plans to the township and have the houses removed by the end of December, the homes still are standing.

Now, with the houses locked in lake ice—and with plans to remove the homes apparently frozen as well—the Clear Lake Improvement Association, a homeowner's group at the lake, is asking the Milton Town Board for an update on the razes.

Joyce Szymberski, spokeswoman for the homeowners group, said members seek to learn at a town board meeting Monday whether owners have submitted any plans or cost estimates to raze the houses.

"It looks like nothing's moved," Szymberski said.

The raze orders were issued to Joseph L. Clouser, 8647 N. Clear Lake Road; Stephen M. Victor, 8723 N. Clear Lake Road; and Don J. Lukas, 8813 N. Clear Lake Road.

Town building inspector Mark Langer said he granted a contractor a demolition permit in December to remove the Lukas property.

But Town Clerk Sandra Kunkel said the town had received no demolition plans and no cost estimates from any of the owners of the flooded homes.

Under guidelines of the raze orders, the town had the option to begin demolition on the homes Dec. 31, after the owners missed the deadline to raze. But Milton Town Board Chairman Bryan Meyer said the town has no money budgeted to raze the flooded homes.

Meyer said the town could start demolition and file civil suits to recover costs, but he noted that option ultimately could cost taxpayers.

"You're never guaranteed you're going to be successful in getting any of those dollars back," he said.

If owners don't raze the homes, Meyer said the town eventually might borrow money for demolition, although without estimates from the owners it's unclear what demolition and removal would cost.

Meyer said the town is cash-strapped and struggling to pay for other pressing issues, such as roadwork.

"It's hard with these municipal budgets. There's not room for something else. We don't anticipate the cost of taking a house out of the water," Meyer said.

The houses have been underwater at Clear Lake since area flooding in 2008 caused the lake to surge 8 feet. The lake never receded, and, in fact, continues to rise during heavy rains, keeping the properties and their adjoining septic systems permanently swamped under shallow water.

Some of the homes still have items inside, Szymberski said.

Last year, new concerns arose over water quality at the lake, which is used heavily for seasonal tourism.

The Rock County Health Department reported last summer that tests showed surface water at Clear Lake had blue-green algae and elevated levels of E. coli, two types of bacteria associated with human waste and agricultural runoff.

Rock County Environmental Health Director Tim Banwell said it was unclear whether elevated bacteria was linked to submerged residential septic systems at Clear Lake.

Banwell said it appears shallow standing floodwaters near the swamped homes have become a summer breeding ground for algae because the sun heats up the water faster there than in other areas of the lake.

Meyer indicated that ongoing flooding at Clear Lake is an issue for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to examine. He also suggested that because the houses are technically now in the lake, the DNR might share some responsibility in the issue.

The DNR likely would not require permitting for the razes, said Russ Rasmussen, the DNR's Bureau Director of Watershed Management.

Szymberski said she thought questions of jurisdiction over the flooded homes had been cleared up through a meeting last year between Clear Lake residents and attorneys from the town of Milton, the DNR and Rock County.

"The discussions clarified the responsibility and helped us convince the town of Milton to move forward to issue the raze order," she said.

Szymberski said if the razes continue to drag, the Clear Lake Improvement Association could consider taking the issue to a higher governing body.

"I'm torn. My heart wants to be a Pollyanna. My mind says press forward and get this done, whatever it takes," she said.