A group of nearly a dozen Green Lake residents learned Thursday night that they cannot operate and use a dock and fire pit at the township park on the south side of the lake.

After a lengthy discussion about riparian rights, they learned from Leighton Township Supervisor Steve Deer that something like a dock on public property cannot be maintained and used by private citizens, no matter how benevolent their intentions, because of questions of liability.

Mark Grimes, a spokesman for the citizens, told the Township Board that he and his group use the beach in the park as a community of people.

“We’ve come together to become a community,” Grimes said. “We really use that beach. We want to be able to show the township that we value it.”

Some of the citizens said the beach and the dock and fire pit have been on the property for as many as 30 years.

“We’ve done a lot of maintenance with the sand and the drain tile,” Grimes said. “I think we’ve been fairly good stewards of the property… it’s very important to our group.”

Treasurer Char Troost said, “If it is a township park, they we (the township) are liable. Our insurance person told us we had to have the dock and fire pit removed.”

Deer said it’s his understanding it is indeed a township park, and it cannot include anything that’s being used privately.

He noted that the situation was brought to his attention by a complaint.

“We don’t actively go looking for this kind of thing,” he explained.

He acknowledged, “There has been an implicit allowance from the township (over the years) for you to do this (use the dock on the township park beach). This situation is complaint-driven and that’s what brought this on.”

Township Planner Mark Sisson said, “No one has the right to have a dock unless they own the property… the riparian rights are restrictive.”

Beth Sexton, another of the Green Lake residents, said they only wanted to use the dock for the children and dogs to jump off.

“All we want is the dock,” she said.

But Deer explained that the Township Board must apply the rules fairly for everyone.

“If we allow one (dock on public property), then we’ll be dealing with several more in the future,” he said. “I don’t think I have a solution to this problem that’s going to make everybody happy.”