The Starke County Park Board has once again denied a request to help with the cost of electrical upgrades at the Bass Lake Campground. Back in August, the facility’s operator, Callahan Development, LLC, asked the park board to deduct the $7,800 cost from its rent payment to the county.
The board voted to deny the request in February, but agreed to revisit the matter this month. The facility’s manager, Larry Clarich, said that several campsites were upgraded to 50-amp service at the park board’s request, but it turned out that there isn’t enough power coming into the campground to support them. “The back half of the campground, because of the distance from where the main circuit breaker is to where the panel is, that line was running over 100-percent usage, which is a hazard,” Clarich told board members.
Board President Richard Ballard also thought it would be a good idea to take another vote due to the fact that one of the board members at February’s meeting, Kathy Norem, was later found to be ineligible since she’s currently a county commissioner. However, the result was the same, with board members deciding to deny the rent credit.
Clarich didn’t say he would reduce the number of campers due to the lack of electrical capacity but noted that some may be less likely to come. “If we don’t do the upgrade, basically, on the hot summer days, I’ve got to tell people that you can’t run your air conditioner,” he said.
Board members said they’d be more likely to approve the request in the future if they had more details and, ideally, more than one quote for the work.
