# ALDEN: Public launch in use - for now



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

ALDEN: Public launch in use - for now 
Ronald Baker says the launch is in his frontage 

By KEITH MATHENY, Record-Eagle staff writer, http://www.record-eagle.com/2004/jun/28boat.htm

ALDEN - Helena Township's downtown boat launch is back in public service, after a dock and shore station installed by a neighbor that blocked it were ordered removed by court order.
A court battle looms, however, between the township and the property owner, who says the launch infringes on his riparian rights on Torch Lake.
Ronald Baker contends the township's boat launch extends into areas that are his lake frontage.
"The ******** say, 'It (the boat launch) has been here for 100 years, and we don't want to see it changed,'¡" he said. "Well, this has only been here since 1985. And each launch here prior to that had a different configuration."
Requests for comment from township officials were referred to supervisor John Ferguson, who did not return multiple messages.
Baker's installation of the dock and shore station this month, which completely blocked the launch, wasn't an oversight on his part. In April, he announced he was going to do it in a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.
Baker said he moored his sailboat off a neighbor's shoreline since buying his home in 1994, as a courtesy to the township to keep boats flowing into and out of the launch site. 
When the neighbor's property was purchased by Alden State Bank, however, Baker said he was forced to move his boat station and dock back to his own nearly 23 feet of lake frontage.
Once the launch was blocked, township officials quickly sued Baker, and received a temporary restraining order from Antrim County Circuit Judge Thomas Power allowing township officials to remove Baker's dock and shore station, which occurred on June 11.
In its complaint, Helena officials stated a boat launch has existed at that site since at least 1900.
A show-cause hearing later this summer in circuit court will determine whether the restraining order should become a permanent injunction barring Baker from installing his dock and shore station in that area.
The Helena launch in busy summer months can often clog traffic on Alden's main thoroughfares, Helena and Coy roads, as trucks towing large boats attempt to back down to the launch. But many local merchants and residents support the launch and the visitors it brings to downtown.
"I came to this town because it had a boat launch. I don't live on the lake," said resident Ann Knapp. 
Said Helena Township resident Jim Biehl of the launch, "It's been there for 50 years. I like to see it there, because I like to use it. But (Baker) has his rights, too."


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Boat launch to stay open 
Judge hopes to resolve it before next summer

By KEITH MATHENY, Record-Eagle staff writer

BELLAIRE - A judge temporarily set aside a who's right, who's wrong dispute over a boat launch in Helena Township and for now ruled on the side of boaters.
Antrim County circuit Judge Thomas Power's priority at a hearing this week was to keep Alden's most active launch to Torch Lake open during the summer boating season.
The judge maintained a restraining order preventing Ronald Baker from installing a dock and shore station off his lake frontage through the remainder of summer, pending resolution of the dispute at a later trial.
Baker's dock and shore station completely blocked the Helena boat launch after its installation last month. They were removed by township officials June 11, following a court order from Power.
Baker said he moored his sailboat off his neighbor-to-the-south's shoreline since buying his home in 1994, as a courtesy to the township to keep boats flowing into and out of the launch site adjacent to his property. 
When the neighbor's property was purchased by Alden State Bank, however, Baker said he was forced to move his boat station and dock back to his own nearly 23 feet of lake frontage.
As Baker argued in court for his riparian rights, township attorney Christopher Bzdok asserted the township has a right of "prescriptive easement" to the launch area, earning a right to use a portion of Baker's lake-bottom property through open, continuous, historical use.
Power expressed confidence the legal dispute could be resolved at trial prior to next summer.
Bzdok praised Power for "preserving 50 years of public access for another summer, until everybody gets their day in court."
Baker said after the hearing that for this summer, "we'll just have to operate with what we have," declining further comment.


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