Dear Armour Lake Residents:
Armour Lake Residents: What a year this has been with COVID-19 which caused the cancellation of not only the FOAL Annual Meeting but our Annual Picnic as well. But the activity on the lake both motorized (fishing, water skiing, tubing) and non-motorized ) canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding and swimming) has never been better. I know many residents came to the lake to escape Covid-19 but I can also tell you I have never seen more activity on the lake than this year which was great to see. FOAL Participation: 58 out of a total of 69 residents have joined FOAL once again this year. A undated listing of all Armour lake Residents will be sent under separate cover. For the last 5 years we have kept our FOAL membership at 80 to 85 percent of the residents which is the best of any other lake association in the Presque Isle Township. At the end of this message I’ve also included information from the Town Board on roads and other subjects since they affect us all in Presque Isle Township.
Results of Wake Boat Survey: The Wake Boat survey was conducted through the Presque Isle Lakes Committee reps and the Lake Associations. First of all I’m very pleased with the number of responses from Armour Lake residents to the Wake Boat survey. Due to the substantial level of interest in the survey the Lakes Committee is proceeding with the tasking they got from the Town Board to assess the feasibility of enacting an ordinance that would restrict or limit use of Wake Boats in the township. Bottom line result of the survey was that respondents favor enacting regulation or restrictions by a 6 to 1 ratio. This sort of regulation is contentious and there are multiple entities that have authority to manage or govern water bodies in Wisconsin. The Lakes Committee is proceeding quite deliberately. They are working on a DRAFT ordinance to bring to the Town Board, along with their thoughts or recommendations on the feasibility of enacting an ordinance.
AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES (AIS): Several years ago PITLC was awarded a Grant by the DNR. The Grant consisted a study of AIS in all the Presque Isle Lakes. All the lakes were divided into three groups and Armour was in the second group to be tested. This summer the DNR surveyed Armour two different times and a report will come out next year. I hope no one on the lake thinks the FOAL Board can monitor or even check when boats are launched from the 28 boat landing sites on the lake. This responsibility rests with the individual resident on the lake who possess a landing. FOAL is not going to tell anyone on the lake who you can choose to use your property or boat landing but the individual resident must insure that the boats and motors launched are clean and free of weeds especially if they are coming from another lake.
PRESQUE ISLE ORDINANCES: All residents of the lake must follow the Presque Isle Township Ordinances. Water skiing hours are from 10 AM to 7 PM. We have a 200 foot no wake provision and a 100 feet separation from each water craft. That map of Armour 200 foot no wake is posted on our FOAL web-site: (friendsofarmourlake.com). These ordinances are also posted on all public boat landings and Presque Isle town website (WWW.piwi.us.) FOAL is not an enforcement organization. When you see something that is not right you need to speak up.WATER LEVELS: Water levels on Armour all summer have remained pretty good. Most of that is due to not only the large amount of rain we have had this summer but the work of Crab Lake residents who have broken up the dam at the bridge 5 times this past summer using chain saws. Many of the piers on Crab Lake have been underwater this past summer due to the blockage at the Bridge because of beaver activity. Before I left for thewinter I traveledto the bridge and while the water was flowing there is a large amount of logs which need to be removed, otherwise we will continue to depend on residents from Crab and Armour to keep the water flowing. The FOAL Board will look into the possibility of hiring a contractor to remove the logs at the dam. The contractor will need a backhoe and truck to do that work. We also will go back to the Country Beaver Control Officer and hire him again this year. Permission will be needed from the landowner as well. Last year Vilas County fell within Zone B where we have a high beaver population, excellent beaver habitat and excellent trout habitat. However,stream protection takes precedent over protection of beaver on high quality streams (re: Beaver Damage Control { Bureau of Wildlife Management PUBL WM-007-05 Rev}. As you are all aware water from Crab Lake, North Crab, Ink Spot, stream to Armour, Armour Lake, Horsehead, Little Horsehead all flow into the Presque Isle River which then flows into Lake Superior.
PROPERTY FOR SALE: If anyone is interested in selling their residence on Armour they can contact Jim Cheshire at 715 892 4223 or J.Chesh64@gmail.com. He has a client who is a big muskie fisherman and only wants to purchase a residence on Armour.
TERM LIMIT: Each officer within FOAL is supposed to have a term of two years, however with residents not stepping up this has not been possible. Join, participate and be heard, step up to any one of 6 leadership positions. FOAL follows State, County and Township statutes/ ordinances.
County Hwy B: The Town is very pleased with the repaving of County Hwy B that was done this past summer. As we have all seen, the paving and striping are now completed and the improvement is so great that apparently the Vilas County Sherriff is now investing resources of deputies and patrol cars to monitor and deter {re-speeding tickets) excessive speed. It was described as a “speed trap” at the last town board meeting.
Status Remainder County Hwy B: Plans are on track for the reconstruction and repaving of Hwy B next summer, which is a stretch from Crab Lake Rd through the town of PI to the bank. This will be a major reconstruction of the roadway through the town with the installation of a 30” storm sewer drainage pipe, gutters, storm drains and water catchment and treatment units at the base of the hill. The roadway will be resurfaced. Final plans should be finalized in the coming months, the county wants to put this project out for bid this fall.
East Armour Road and Bartsch Road: This summer the township put in five new culverts on East Armour Rd along with cutting the hills down and truck loads of gravel on both roads. The culverts have already fix the flooding problems on East Armour that we were experiencing earlier this summer. The Town regraded both roads and the Township will let the roads stay like this over winter and repave those two roads next summer. The regrading and culverts have improved the roads immensely.
Town Constable: Howie Meyer has been wanting to retire for some time and has now resigned. The Town Board recognized his resignation and the town is now without a constable to enforce our local ordinances. All criminal complaints will be handled by the Vilas County Sheriff past and future, but the sheriff will not enforce local civil regulations. Constable is an elected position and the incumbent must be a resident of PI. The Town is now soliciting candidates to fill the position until the next election.
Presque Isle Internet Access: While the town only has preliminary information, the news on the improvement of Internet Access is not encouraging. The interest remains strong and there are increasing levels of activity at the county and regional level. However, there has been a pause with actual plans on the part of Century Link and the State and Federal grant processes are undergoing changes. Until things get sorted out and new procedures up and running, they will not be able to do the concrete planning and investing we were hoping to see.
FOAL Annual Meeting and Picnic for 2021: Our Annual Meeting will be held 5 July 2021 at the Presque Isle Town Center starting at 4 PM. Our Annual Picnic will be held on 4 September 2021 starting at 4 PM. Social hour will be held from 4-5PM with dinner following.