Letter to the editor: It’s all relative in sharing

Talk about it

Lake County Commissioner Paul Bergman’s commentary in the last week’s News-Chronicle on revenues received from utility line easements brought to mind the revenues the county does receive, though in a more roundabout fashion.

Throughout Lake County there are miles of power, gas, phone lines, and roads that go through private property. Those property owners cannot use those easements for their own use, yet they are included on our property tax. Then there are all those miles of easements that go through state and federal land where the county receives, though a small amount, payment in lieu of taxes (PILT).

For years I have been vocal about being in favor of motorized trails as an economic necessity for our business community and recently the fiber project as an opportunity to bring much needed technology to our rural areas.

Approximately 10 percent of my property is unavailable to me for my use, yet I and hundreds of other private property owners in the county are assessed on our full acreage. We have to maintain our driveways, yet the public is allowed, by law, to use the road right-of-way for motorized recreational use.

Snowmobiles cross driveways and can cause damage, like frozen culverts.

What the public does not have the right to use, yet many believe it does, is the utility easements through private property.

The private property owner has also been a very good partner in making utilities available. We’ve learned to live with the personal costs and inconveniences for the betterment of our communities as a whole.

From Pat Taylor, Beaver Bay Township

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion