WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) — Wakulla County commissioners voted Monday to begin the process of closing the water access area on Lake Ellen, a decision driven largely by concerns about taxpayer spending.
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The vote initiates the process of repealing Section 23.011 of the county code, which pertains to the Lake Ellen Drive water access area. The repeal would remove signage and stop county maintenance on the perimeter of the ramp. While the county will no longer maintain the ramp, the public right-of-way remains in place.
David Edwards, the county administrator, explained what the county retains.
"The county would retain the public right-of-way dedicated to the county pursuant to the 1961 plat, which would ensure that property owners within Lake Ellen Estates Unit One maintain access to Lake Ellen," Edwards said.
Many Wakulla neighbors had used the old boat ramp on Lake Ellen for boating and swimming for years, but the property owners closed it in 2018.
According to the agenda item, the underlying fee ownership of the area where the ramp is located belongs to private owners, even though the county holds a right-of-way in the area. All of the lots that border the lake have some portion of their property extending into the waters of the lake.
Neighborhood Reporter Serena Davanzo spoke to neighbors Friday in the Lake Ellen area who said they would love to have that access back.
The county had engaged in negotiations about a possible property purchase to reopen that access. During those initial negotiations, the county received an appraisal that put the market value of the property at $253,000.
A key question raised during the process was whether the county already had rights to use the ramp. The county attorney examined the matter and determined that, while the county has reasonable legal arguments it can make, the questions of whether Lake Ellen is a state-owned sovereign water body or a private lake and whether the County possesses such littoral rights by virtue of the dedication of Lake Ellen Drive cannot be resolved with any degree of certainty without judicial review.
Two neighbors spoke during Monday's meeting — both opposing the purchase, citing concerns about the cost of acquiring the property and about safety on the lake.
Sara Robinson, a neighbor with lakefront property, pointed to the lake's safety record since the ramp's closure.
"This represents the people who were killed on our lake, and this represents the tragic accidents that have happened on the lake. This was all prior to it being closed. Since it's been closed, we've had zero incidents, zero deaths, zero accidents," Robinson said.
No neighbors at Monday's meeting spoke in support of purchasing the property.
Commissioners agreed that spending a quarter of a million dollars in taxpayer money to purchase the property surrounding the ramp was not the right course of action. Commissioner Ralph Thomas said the matter should be litigated to define access rights, rather than simply purchasing a lakeside property outright.
"Why would you have a county-maintained road that the taxpayers pay for, and the plat that was established and recorded in 1963 clearly dedicates it to the public, clearly takes it to the water and beyond the water's edge. Why would you have that if the intent was not to have the public have access to it?" Thomas said.
The county will next advertise and schedule a public hearing to amend the county code.
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