Oxford Township officials last week gave residents of the Brabb-Dewey subdivision a mixed message with regard to their ability to access Stony Lake Park when it’s closed.
On the one hand, officials wanted to make it perfectly clear that when the park is closed, no members of the public are allowed inside per the township ordinance.
By ordinance, the park is only open to township residents from 9 a.m. through 9 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
‘I’m not going to tell you to use the park because I can’t,? said township Supervisor Bill Dunn. ‘Until that ordinance is changed or we’re challenged in court, it’s going to stand.?
However, if residents of the Brabb-Dewey subdivision, which borders the park on the north and west sides, wish to enjoy the facility during an off-time, so long as they’re not creating a nuisance, damaging property or otherwise ‘abusing? it, they need not fear prosecution.
‘We’re not in a Gestapo state here,? said Supervisor Bill Dunn. ‘If someone’s walking through that park, having a coffee, taking a stroll, as long as they’re not (lighting) fires and disrupting (things), I don’t believe anyone’s going to be calling the police to have them arrested or given a ticket.?
‘I’m not going to say they can use the park, but I think if they’re out there playing catch or throwing a frisbee, I don’t think anybody’s going to complain,? Dunn noted. ‘I, for the life of me, can’t think of someone that’s going to call the police on that.?
‘That’s fine with me,? said George Cutler, a Brabb-Dewey resident who lives on Ora Rd. ‘I think we can live with that.?
The issue of Brabb-Dewey residents access to the park arose back in April when the township was considering placement of a fence around the park, a suggestion from the municipality’s insurance carrier, to minimize vandalism and potential liability issues.
Ultimately, the township board voted against erecting a fence, a position it reiterated last week, however, there was some question as to Brabb-Dewey residents? ability to enter and use the park when it’s closed to the rest of the public.
Subdivision residents claim they have unlimited access to the park because of a 1938 quite claim deed from George and Lulu Dewey which conveyed to the Brabb-Dewey Association and its residents ‘all of the land and lands submerged under the waters of Stony Lake lying south of the Brabb-Dewey subdivision.?
This was done ‘expressly for the use, benefit and enjoyment of each and every owner of lots in the Brabb-Dewey subdivision, individually and including their families, their successors in title in perpetuity.?
In the event of the association’s inactivity or dissolution, the deed states ‘the rights and benefits to continue in the individual lot owner.?
However, a Sept. 30 opinion letter from township attorney Gary Rentrop stated, based on his review of the deeds and records, the Brabb-Dewey ‘does not have a property interest? in either the township park or the lands located under Stony Lake directly south of the park.
In 1899, Sarah Brabb sold the 13?-acre park to the township for $1,175. The following year a quit claim deed from Brabb to the township for the land under Stony Lake was recorded. This appears to confirm Rentrop’s opinion.
Brabb-Dewey does appear to own the lands submerged under the lake directly south of the subdivision and southwest of the park.
These submerged lands go with two vacant lakefront lots owned by the subdivision. These lots are joined to each other by an easement and connected to the subdivision by two other easements leading down to them.
According to Dunn, this is how subdivision residents can still have year-round access to the lake without needing to enter or cross through the township park.
‘You can go down to the lake that way,? he told Brabb-Dewey residents. ‘You can use that any time you want.?
The township board’s seemingly contradictory view of Brabb-Dewey residents? ability to access the park didn’t please everybody.
‘I wouldn’t be telling them they can go in there, if the ordinance says you can’t and then they get cited,? said Parks and Rec. Director Ron Davis. ‘You can’t tell these people they can use it year round and then have an ordinance that says you can’t.?
‘That’s misleading. That’s not being good stewards as a legislative body,? he added.
Davis noted that when the park is closed there is no maintenance done anywhere including the playground and this poses a safety risk.
Trustee Pat Fitchena, who lives on a parcel of Brabb-Dewey that borders the park, didn’t agree with Rentrop’s opinion as to what lands under Stony Lake are owned by the subdivision.
‘I think he’s wrong and I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is,? she said.