LZA, Ski Club Reach Accord—

Tempers Settle Over

Lake Patrols

By Kendra Bobowick

“I think and I hope it will all be over tonight,” said Leaps of Faith President Joel Zeisler during the daylight hours before a Lake Zoar Authority (LZA) meeting scheduled for later that night. And it was.

Proposed fees disappeared, volatile arguments quieted, “mutual agreements” emerged, towns will be named on the Leaps of Faith insurance policy: all these terms were hashed out Tuesday night, but no one was smiling.

“I needed to be the good guy, they wanted things resolved,” Mr Zeisler said Wednesday.

First selectmen or representatives from the four towns with residents comprising the LZA, one Department of Environmental Protection member, and one Southbury trooper shut themselves into a 90-plus-minute executive session with the authority determined to reach a conclusion to a nearly two-year-long argument between the ski clinic and lake authority.

The dispute arose when the LZA deemed a police patrol necessary for the Leaps of Faith clinics; the ensuing fees would fall to the disability proponents. In the end, no fees remain, towns will be named on the Leaps of Faith insurance police, both parties must agree on particular dates and number of clinics where the ski club will block off the far end of the lake near the Shepaug Dam, requiring patrols. The patrol boat will make frequent passes in the clinic’s vicinity. Aside from naming the towns with insurance, the only other change asks that volunteers in the Leaps of Faith’s patrol boats, which traditionally have supervised the clinics and boat traffic, must have means to radio or phone the police boat.

Mr Zeisler was agreeable for the sake of Tuesday’s meeting, but feels the selectmen and authority have “overstepped their bounds.” Is it their right to limit the number of clinics? He does not think so. Clinics during off-peak times on the lake, early June and September, which would not require the ski group to block the lake, therefore do not require a patrol, he said.

Mr Zeisler had threatened a lawsuit in past months, determined to continue running his more than 12-year-old clinic as he had in the past, and several authority members insisted on the patrol and fees to cover costs. They were afraid of being sued if someone was injured, essentially, and both parties stood firmly cemented in their views.

First selectmen from Oxford, Monroe, Newtown, and Southbury two months ago showed up with a message: Make the threats of litigation go away. Work this out.

Two months later, with a warm spell kicking wet leaves across the parking lot outside Southbury Town Hall, they arrived again to intervene.

With a motion for the executive session on the table, Mr Zeisler dropped a reminder on the authority, a threat that brought the selectmen out in the first place. “We are prepared to go to litigation; we don’t want to, but we are prepared.”

Accompanied by Terry Bogue, a former LZA member interested in the meeting, Leaps of Faith volunteers William Soracin and Paul Gallichotte, and LZA secretary Martha George, the handful of attendees stepped outside as the door swung closed on the executive session. The door barely closed before Mr Bogue, turned to Mr Zeisler, “You’re putting yourself in danger …”

“We have insurance,” Mr Zeisler said. By the time their small group reached a spare conference room, the conversation continued, and inevitably all the what-ifs tossed by Mr Bogue were volleyed back with replies from Mr Zeisler, Mr Gallichotte or Mr Soracin — covering the two-year, fruitless back-and-forth with the authority. Reaching from safety and police patrols to ski instruction and safety certification, the main issue remained: Mr Zeisler simply wanted to continue conducting his ski clinics without the burden of providing fees to the authority.

Glancing down the hall, they passed the time waiting for the conference room door to open.

Monroe First Selectman Tom Buzi eventually came to get them.

Following the first selectman, Mr Zeisler and others stepped into the conference room to face a full table where DEP member Thomas Morrissey sat with Oxford First Selectman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers, Newtown First Selectman Joe Borst, Southbury’s new First Selectman H. William Davis, and assistant Jennifer Naylor.

Despite the collected officials and more than ten authority members present, the room was still. Chairman Steve Jaroszewski gathered some papers and looked at the Leaps of Faith members. “We have an idea of a compromise,” he said. Although the evening would end with a decision — a variation on the chairman’s initial attempt at settling disputes, parties quickly picked up their respective arguments before Mr Zeisler said, “I think we’re on the wrong avenue.”

Turned in his seat to face the Leaps of Faith President, Mr Buzi softened his tone and asked, “What’s the right avenue? We are asking your opinion.” Mr Zeisler reiterated his arguments against the LZA-imposed police patrol and subsequent costs for the service. Seeing another stumbling block between the groups and an agreement, Mr Buzi explained his peers’ concerns as officials.

“The four of us, we have to look out for the entire town,” he said. His point? He does not want to see an injury on the lake lead to a lawsuit. “We have to look out for the one time something does go wrong. That’s the conundrum we have. Today, you can get sued for anything.” The police patrol would bring a “comfort level.”

Ms Rogers asked if Leaps of Faith were willing to compromise by limiting its number of events. Speaking up, Mr Gallichotte said, “Yes.”

“That’s a step forward,” she said. After another executive session, talks continued.

What about money if the cost of patrols needed covering?

“We’re talking a small amount that would give the selectmen comfort,” Mr Buzi said. In earlier conversation, the Leaps of Faith representatives had rejected thoughts of raising money to offset costs. “What about help,” Mr Buzi asked. “I’d give you time with the economic development corporations. They would help you fundraise.” Money is not the problem, however. Mr Zeisler said, “We think the disabled deserve the same [treatment] as the public.” His point: the public does not pay. Buzi talked about possibly “guiding dollars” toward the group. “Are you against doing that?” he asked.

Ski club members stepped outside to speak privately, while the authority phrased a motion. The authority members proposed to run patrol loops on days of clinics — which would be mutually agreed upon — and frequently swing by the skiers. They require that the ski club’s volunteers on board their own patrol boats have in place the capability to contact the police patrol by phone or radio. The groups would determine “mutually agreeable” dates for a majority of clinics to run in July and August, with the potential for one additional June patrol, and one additional September patrol. Dates that the skiers do not block off the lake off the shores of Housatonic Drive do not require the patrols. If problem occurs, they will convene to reassess these arrangements.

After the skiers reentered the room Ms Rogers soon cut into discussion saying, “There has to be some mutual agreement here.”

“It is tough,” Mr Zeisler said.

“You have got to work this out. You’ve got to talk to people,” Mr Buzi insisted.

Mr Buzi and the Leaps of Faith representative at last arrived at a point in the conversation where the selectmen collectively had hoped to be — on the brink of an agreement. The policy would be a lake policy, not specific only to the Leaps of Faith. Turning back to the authority members the Monroe representative said, “Let me put it to those who vote.” With stipulations to name the towns in their insurance and to put in place the proper signage during clinics, the authority and ski group reached their agreement.

“I think you’ve got a good deal here,” Mr Buzi said.