Ohio Lakefront Group 2010 Annual Meeting

The Ohio Lakefront Group Annual Meeting was held on May 13th at Holiday Inn West in Westlake. Greg Baeppler, OLG Board Chairman conducted the business meeting. The business meeting began with the nomination and election of the 2010-2011 Board of Directors. The previous 11 members of the board were nominees to continue into next year. There were no nominations from the floor and the OLG Secretary cast a ballot for election by acclamation. Rick Rennell, OLG Treasurer, displayed a finance report showing last years balance, the year’s income and expenses by category, and the beginning 2010-2011 balance. The report was accepted by the membership as presented. The business meeting was then concluded.

OLG President Tony Yankel gave a brief synopsis of our standing with the lawsuit. Briefs are being filed by both sides based on the Ohio Supreme Court schedule. Briefs will be concluded by August. The Court will then set a schedule for oral arguments, which is to be determined. We are getting some organizations to file Amicus briefs (friend of the Court) on our behalf. Save Our Shoreline  from Michigan. Dave Powers, SOS Vice President, will be filing. Also, Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law will file on our behalf. We are expecting other briefs as well. (Tony Yankel Video Pending)

Dave Powers of Michigan SOS spoke about their lawsuit which was lost in the Michigan Supreme Court after having won in the Trial Court and Appellate Court. He gave the history of the case and how the Michigan Supreme Court bumbled the decision in favor of “beach walking”. He continued his message  about lessons learned in Michigan and what OLG can do to help prevent a similar occurrence by the Ohio Supreme Court. We must actively pursue public relations to counter the State’s misinformation about private property. Ohio AG Richard Cordray recently wrote an editorial in he Sandusky Register claiming that if we win our case, all of Lake Erie will be fenced off from the public. (This is not only untrue, but as most know impossible. He also failed to mention the 43 miles of public beach which the State is not able to adequately maintain.) Our PR efforts must counter these lies and misinformation. Further he advocated getting as many Amicus briefs as possible.There are 2 clips. Click on each to see the video. Dave Powers SOS part 1 Dave Powers SOS part 2

Maurice Thompson, Executive Director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, spoke of his involvement with constitutional issues such as private property. He spoke of several cases settled by the Ohio Supreme Court that favored private property owners. He gave a good history of private property law in Ohio and how his center strongly supports our efforts in this lawsuit. To see  a video clip of  Maurice Thompson‘s comments, click his link.

Shaun Newsome, a marina owner on the Vermilion River, spoke about the recent ODNR attempt designate the Vermilion River as a “scenic river” without consultation with any property owners along the river. As a scenic river, the ODNR has virtual control of the land from the river’s center to at least 1000 feet on both sides of the river. Mr. Newsome explained that property owners read a small press release from ODNR stating their intention to designate the river with a meeting scheduled for interested parties. Property owners found that two (2) years ago the ODNR went to various municipal and county governments along the river and asked for their approval for a “Study” to determine whether the Vermilion should be designated as a scenic river. Nothing was heard from ODNR until the press release. At the meeting ODNR officials were unable to answer any questions about what the 240.000 study determined or what the “scenic” designation meant. A subsequent meeting was scheduled by ODNR with double the number of people attending. At the end of this meeting ODNR said they were delaying designation of the river. ODNR, In a more recent press, said they would no longer pursue the “scenic river” designation unless it was brought back to them by the citizens. Most government agencies dropped their support to ODNR as originally given 2 years ago. To see the video clips of Shaun’s comments, click the links. Shaun Newsome Vermilion River Part 1 Shaun Newsome Vermilion River Part 2

Senator Tim Grendell gave a rousing talk about what has happened since the suit was filed in 2004 and what we must be prepared to do to win this case at the Supreme Court. He likened the case to a horse race, where it doesn’t matter who is ahead in the back stretch or the final turn, but it is who crosses the finish line first who is the winner. Horses need to be fed, just as our suit needs to be fed to assure we have sufficient resources to bring all we need to the table. In addition to funding, we need the amicus briefs, the good public relations (like letters to the editor of newspapers) and we need to continue to get more people involved with our cause. Finally, when the oral arguments are heard, we need to fill buses and fill the courtroom to let the judges know that we are not just a few activists, but many ordinary people who are there to see that our private property rights are respected. To see the video clips of Senator Grendell’s comments, click the respective links. Senator Tim Grendell Part 1 Senator Tim Grendell Part 2