Veteran Groups Blast Orono City Council For Big Island Dock Closure
ORONO, Minn. (WCCO) -- For nearly 90 years, Big Island on Lake Minnetonka was the site of a 56-acre camp set aside for Minnesota's war veterans.
Until 2005, it was operated as a place of solitude for vets. But then the land was sold with the help of the state of Minnesota to the city of Orono to be preserved as a "passive park," left in a natural state.
Since then, large, handicapped-accessible floating docks were installed to give disabled and aging vets easy access to the island from a boat.
But based on action at last Monday's Orono city council meeting, that opportunity is about to end.
"I don't know if I am as irate as I am absolutely ashamed," said Gabriel Jabbour, who owns and operates a number of marinas on the lake and has taken special interest in giving veterans groups access to the island.
Not only does Jabbour store the floating docks free of charge over the winter months, but he has also provided transport to and from the island for hundreds if not thousands of vets over the years.
Jabbour is angry over Orono's plan to sell the docks, in order to spare the city annual maintenance costs of $8,000 per year to both install and remove the docks each season.
Orono Mayor Dennis Walsh said at Monday's council meeting that "Orono doesn't operate regional parks, so we're not going to be in the regional park business."
Jabbour understands why vets are crying foul, saying the city's plan violates the park's intent of equal access, as written in the park's management plan.
If there are no docks to provide safe access off a boat and onto the island, those veterans who depend on wheelchairs and walkers will be prevented from visiting.
"We have a moral obligation, a commitment to the veterans," Jabbour said. "They sold it to us with the understanding they have unfettered access to it."
Critics say it's being done without consulting other stake holders, like the Hennepin County Sheriff's water patrol and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. Both entities depend on the docks for access to the island as well.
Meantime, veterans are left asking: Why? Many wonder if other communities or civic groups will do what the city of Orono no longer wants to.
"Whether it's local service clubs or it go back to the vets or the communities themselves, there's a way to do this right and this is not happening," says Vietnam War-era veteran Ross McGlasson.
Veteran's groups, disability advocates and concerned citizens will attend the Orono City Council meeting scheduled for Feb. 27, asking for a reversal of the decision.
