Billie Jo Rylance says council should reconsider pier proposal

To: Cheryl Laatsch, Water Management Specialist, Department of Natural Resources, State of Wisconsin; and
Members of the Oshkosh Common Council: Mayor William Castle, Jr., Deputy Mayor Frank Tower, Paul J. Esslinger, Shirley Brabender Mattox, Burk Tower, Bryan L. Bain, and Meredith Scheuermann.

Re: The Otter Street Fishing Club Pier proposal

On Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) held a public hearing on a proposal by the Otter Street Fishing Club to build a 125 ft. X 100 ft T-shaped pier in Miller's Bay at New York Avenue. I attended that meeting.
Based on two criteria followed by the DNR, this proposal should be looked at negatively.

1. Miller's Bay between Lincoln Street and Ames Point comprises the only area of Menominee Park uninterrupted by man-made buildings, piers, docks, or activity fields and courts. As such, the proposed pier, an enormous structure, would violate the natural beauty of the area whether from a lake or land perspective.
2. To my knowledge, no wild life surveys or counts, including the resident fish population have been completed since the early 1990s. Anecdotal evidence from area fishermen; however, indicates that the area specified in the proposal supports few fish, and those few only during spawning season. Given the paucity of edible fish, a pier devoted to fishing appears unwarranted.
   

The Oshkosh Common Council should also reconsider the pier proposal. Mr. Stephany, in his statement at the DNR public hearing, stressed that the pier would be constructed for the use of children and adolescents, especially those with disabilities. The Common Council should re-examine the proposal in light of two issues: health and safety.

1. The proposed pier contains no plan for guardrails or ramps. It also fails to include lighting, reflectors, rest rooms, or parking. All youth and particularly youth with disabilities need those features to ensure safety as well as access (I have considerable experience in the area of special education having taught in the field for over 20 years).
2. The proposed pier would attract sea gulls. Naturally, sea gulls leave excrement which is slippery and involves a safety hazard. But an even greater concern here involves health. Gulls are known carriers of the avian flu virus, which is spread via excrement. Given the current world-wide concern over this virus, the pier constitutes a potential threat to our most vulnerable citizens…. youth and youth with disabilities.
   

For the above listed reasons, I urge the DNR to veto the current proposed pier and the Common Council to reconsider it. When a pier proposal emerges that designates a setting that will not bisect the remaining natural beauty of open land and lake in Menominee Park, and also includes features that promote health and safety; then it will be time to give serious consideration to a pier proposal.

Sincerely yours,

Billie Jo Rylance
--
Billie Jo Rylance, Ph.D.
Department of Special Education, COEHS
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
800 Algoma Boulevard
Oshkosh, WI 54901-8640
Phone: 920-424-7243
FAX: 920-424-0858
Email: rylance@uwosh.edu