MASON CITY – A former park board member has asked the current board to consider more signage at Lester Milligan Park.
The issue, according to Michael Servantez – who served on the park board in the 1990’s – revolves around boaters using any one of the five the ponds at Lester Milligan. Lester Milligan Park is located on South Pierce Avenue on the southwest side of Mason City, containing 81.07 acres of parkland. Servantez says that city code adopted in the 1990’s bans boats with a gasoline-powered engine from the ponds there. He says that just taking a boat onto one of the ponds – and not even turning on the engine – violates city code.
At this time, just Big Blue has a sign that warns boaters that they may not take a boat with a gasoline-powered engine onto the pond. Servantez asked the park board to add similar signage at the other four ponds. He said that Mason City police are trained to watch for violators at Big Blue but because there are no signs at the other ponds, people are not being cited by police.
Servantez said his main concern is a leakage or spill from an engine at a pond, which would be environmentally hazardous and detrimental to the ecosystem. He and the board agreed that electric-powered motors are just fine for use on the ponds.
The board agreed to review current city code, check the sign at Big Blue to make sure it is accurate, and then add signage where appropriate.
Watch video:
httpv://youtu.be/ZyXCcR2B_7U
