BELCHERTOWN — Three years after winning approval to operate a controversial private water-ski course on the state-owned Metacomet Lake, a lakeside homeowner is asking the town to renew his license indefinitely.
David Fuhrmann, 52, a New York state resident who owns a home along the shore of the 74-acre public lake north of Bay Road and west of Route 9, will appear before the Conservation Commission Monday night.
Fuhrmann signaled his intent to continue operating the course after his permit expired last year. To do so, he needs to comply with state, federal and town wetlands protection laws and a set of conditions.
While water skiing is permitted on the lake, some residents initially opposed the course on grounds that it would impede the public’s ability to use of the lake and have potentially adverse environmental effects.
Should the commission renew his license, it would give Fuhrmann permanent permission for the water ski course, Conservation Administrator Erica Cross wrote in an email.
“This permit expires in three years as well, but would be recorded against the deed and therefore give any future landowners the right to keep and maintain in the same location the water ski course,” Cross said.
The Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act, also known as Chapter 91, was enacted in 1866 and governs the development and protection of wetland habitats in the state. To receive a license to build anything on a wetland, an applicant must apply for Chapter 91 license and prove the project serves a public good.
The state Department of Environmental Protection initially denied Fuhrmann’s request for a Chapter 91 licence in 2014, a decision that was reversed in May 2015 after Fuhrmann appealed. The three-year trial permit approved by the state agency at that time came with specific limitations.
The 850-foot-long course, which includes 22 submersible buoys, runs parallel to the lake’s longest shore, covering about 71,250 square feet. When in use, the buoys inflate and rise from the lake bottom, controlled by a compressor and air lines running from Fuhrman’s lakefront property at 87 Metacomet St. He says he installed the new water ski slalom course last spring and used it over the summer.
At Monday’s meeting, the Conservation Commission will ask Fuhrmann how he plans to handle the potential negative impacts of the course, like wildlife habitat disruption, minimizing wakes and storing the ski course in the winter.
“I know there are concerns about the resource area impacts, and the impacts on the neighboring properties, but until we get a full presentation, it’s hard to say whether we will approve the project or not,” Cross said in an email.
Fuhrmann is allowed to use the course for one hour on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and holidays between May 15 and Sept. 15. Within two weeks of Sept. 15, the course is to be raised and inspected by the Conservation Commission for any “fishing lines, anchors and other navigation- and fishing-related items entangled in the course.”
Fuhrman said because his slalom course rests at the bottom of the lake when not in use, and he does not use the course when there are too many people on the water, it poses no threat to the public’s right to enjoy the lake.
“There are no concerns because there are no fish lines in the course presently and I had to go through the process last time,” Fuhrmann said.
When he initially submitted an application to install and use the water ski slalom course in June 2013, the idea met opposition from other lakeside residents, the town’s Conservation Commission, Tri-Lakes Watershed Association and the Select Board. Town officials raised concerns about the project to the regional DEP office, including the impact the course would have on public rights of navigation and free passage on the lake.
“It’s a private structure in a public waterway able to be used by Mr. Fuhrman, his guests and his boat,” said Sean Gallagher, president of the Tri-Lakes Watershed Association, in an interview.
The Tri-Lakes Association is a private environmental organization that pays for the restoration and upkeep of Belchertown’s water bodies through membership fees and fundraisers.
All but two of the 60 Belchertown residents present at an August 2013 Select Board meeting opposed the idea, Gallagher said, and Fuhrmann was one of the two in favor.
“Everyone there was either a member of the Lakes Association or someone who used the lake,” Gallagher said.
The first ski slalom course on the lake was installed in 1991 by Ed Kirby and consisted of 40 submersible buoys. Kirby removed the course in October 2012 after learning he would have to apply for a permit to continue its use.
“I went through an environmental law firm last time and if I have to do that again I will do so,” Fuhrmann said.
The Conservation Commission will meet Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Lawrence Memorial Hall Room 101.
Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@gazettenet.com