Nearly 40 people were in attendance at the June 10 Hazelhurst town board meeting, but about half of them left at the start of the meeting when town chairman Ted Cushing announced there would be no discussion or action on the “wake board” agenda item.
A story in the June 13 issue of The Lakeland Times in Minocqua outlined the issue.
The town board postponed the issue until their July 8 meeting out of concern that any discussion of a wake boat ordinance under the “wake board” ordinance agenda item would violate state open meeting laws.
“I am not going to violate the open meetings law,” Cushing said in regard to the agenda saying “wake board” instead of “wake boat.” Wake boats have become a hot-button issue in the Northwoods in recent years with proponents citing the tourism and revenue the activity brings to the area, while others are critical of the potential damage wake-enhancing boats may cause to the lake environment.
