Silver Lake voucher vote tabled until January

By Allison Scarbrough. OCP Editor.

SILVER LAKE — Bill Loomis, who launched the opposition effort of a proposed new voucher system at Silver Lake State Park, is relieved that state officials tabled their vote on the controversial issue Thursday, Dec. 11, but remains wary about what will ultimately be decided.

Local sand dune enthusiasts are outraged by a proposed new voucher system that they feel will lock them out of the sand dunes on the weekends and overburden them with additional fees. Related Story Here

Loomis’ personal Facebook page, silver.lake, was bombarded with activity the last couple days during his vigilant efforts to stop the vote. As a likely result, his Facebook page was shut down overnight. “I got a message (from Facebook), saying, ‘This is not your real name,’” he said this morning. Loomis is the process of setting up a group Facebook page named Silver Lake.

At the heart of the issue is addressing the long lines of dune riders entering the park. “We need to come up with a plan that will work,” Loomis said.

An online petition drive, petitions.silver-lake-state-park-voucher, that launched Wednesday night is aiming to stop the proposed voucher plan. As of late Friday morning, there were 2,217 signatures.

Loomis said he received a phone call from Rep. John Bumstead (R-Newaygo) Thursday afternoon to let him know the issue was tabled. “He called me right after he walked out of the (Michigan State Parks Advisory Committee) meeting,” Loomis said. Plans are to have either a community meeting or a meeting with Silver Lake business owners that will take place in Silver Lake in January. An exact date and location has not been set, he said.

 A phone call and an email message to Silver Lake State Manager Charlotte Kiefer have not yet been returned.