State Representative Donna Lasinski speaks in Freedom Township

Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association fall meeting, which was held Monday, September 11, 2017 featured State Representative Donna Lasinski. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

submitted by Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association

State Representative Donna Lasinski served as the guest speaker at the Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association fall meeting, which was held Monday, September 11, 2017.  More than 45 area residents filled the Freedom Township Hall on Pleasant Lake Road to complete association business, listen to an update from Lansing, and participate in an informative open discussion of resident questions and concerns.

Representative Lasinski gave a short presentation – Protecting Water and Land–a View from Lansing – in which she discussed the importance of conservation and water protection. She reviewed the evolution of State and DNR budgets, which have only seen slight increases, and limited state funding for the control of aquatic invasive species. Rep. Lasinski noted that she has supported House Resolution 61 which urged the Governor and the DEQ to reject the Nestle request for a major increase in water withdrawal. She has also supported House Bill 4402 to allow for more flexible use of stream gauges to monitor water use rights.

Concerning local water issues, she acknowledged resident concerns about pipeline threats to Pleasant Lake and nearby Silver Lake, as well as runoff and development impacts on the lake areas. She also recognized resident concerns about the renewed strategy to increase public boat launches when funding is limited and aquatic invasive threats are increasing. She noted that through cooperative action, the community has been able to achieve greater involvement and transparency with the DNR on this issue and recommended these efforts be continued to improve dialogue.

During the question and answer portion of the meeting a wide variety of non-water issues were also discussed, including the status of education funding in Michigan, the current grass roots effort to establish a ballot initiative to create a new way of determining election districts throughout the State, and Laskinski’s own efforts to improve Broadband access in rural areas like Freedom Township which have been put at a technological disadvantage due to limited access to quality internet services.

Freedom Township resident and Dexter teacher, John Heuser, was in attendance and commented: “I really enjoyed Rep. Lasinski’s presentation and the follow up discussions. We had an opportunity to directly interact with our state representative, ask questions, and get a legislative update. I was impressed by her knowledge of lake, water resources, and pipeline issues, as well as the bipartisan efforts she is making on other important challenges like public education and Broadband access.”

The Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association (PLPOA) is a group of lake residents concerned with maintaining lake health and environmental quality around Pleasant Lake.

Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.