Lake Denton Committee Can Be The Start Of Something Good

Highlands County commissioners wasted no time appointing members to a committee to consider the issues swirling around Lake Denton. We're glad they moved quickly and hope the committee can work just as quickly finding a reasonable alternative to closing the lake to the public for a year.

The seven-member committee is made up of citizens with varying interests. A couple of the members are lake residents, one is a retired scuba instructor and others are concerned citizens chosen by the commission. Commissioner Don Bates will chair the committee but not be a voting member. It sounds like a good mix of opinions and expertise.

The committee will have public meetings, some in the evenings, to consider the issues and try to find a solution to the problems plaguing the lake. It won't be easy and members need to understand up front that no matter what they decide, they will catch heat.

What we do know is that the lake must be open to the public. It's a treasure and citizens have just as much right to it as homeowners. That's true of all the county's lakes, and we hope officials take another look at all our lakes and make sure the public has plenty of access, and the facilities necessary to properly use this fantastic resource.

It's too bad that many decades ago more property was not purchased by the county and our municipalities to provide more outstanding parks and facilities for the public.

Just check out Lake Wales' public facilities on the lake to see how it should have been done here. Long stretches along the lake are open to the public for picnics, biking, jogging and just to enjoy the atmosphere. In Highlands County, we have a few nice parks on our lakes, but not nearly enough.

Let's hope a good solution is found for Lake Denton. Let's also hope the county and our cities finally see the need to provide more and better public usage of our lakes.