I was looking at fishing reports and ran into this on Lybacks website
New Mille Lacs County fish lot permit rules state that every house must go on the ice in the winter, so license or not I'll be pulling it out and you will be dealing with the DNR, not me. So I would advise you to give us a call about your house and storage fees, or they will be calling you when it's on the lake without a license!!!
I know there was talk about some of the rules a while back but I didnt think it went anywhere.Just curious if something has changed.I know there are quite a few houses around that will never make it out on the lake.
Actually Rob, Mille Lacs county is going to be checking all the resorts to make sure every house goes out on the ice at some time. They say they will be ticketing people whos houses don't go out. Basically, they are cracking down on people using fish houses only as "cabins" instead of a fish house. They are basically saying....If it is in a resort, it has to go out. If you want a cabin only, by one and pay property taxes.
__________________
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots away.
Well then they will be writing quite a few tickets as I know there are quite a few just at the Wharf alone that havnt hit the ice in years.Just one more reason I got rid of my shack up there.
I looked at it this way.I paid X amount of dollars to a resort to have a fish house there and they pay taxes on the place with some of that money.So indirectly I was paying taxes on it.I dont think it is actually right for me to have to pay taxes on something I am just renting anyway and dont gain any value or equity out of.Just like renting property or a house you dont pay the taxes on it the owner does.However this might not be the same way ML county is looking at it.
They probably look at it as that structure is supposed to be a ice fishing house. If you are not going to use it as one during the winter, they are goinng to make it harder for you to keep your house at the resorts, because it is there under the conditions of the resorts "fish house park" conditional use permit from the county.
__________________
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots away.
I looked at it this way.I paid X amount of dollars to a resort to have a fish house there and they pay taxes on the place with some of that money.So indirectly I was paying taxes on it.I dont think it is actually right for me to have to pay taxes on something I am just renting anyway and dont gain any value or equity out of.Just like renting property or a house you dont pay the taxes on it the owner does.However this might not be the same way ML county is looking at it.
I see it the same way. No real difference in an ice house and camper trailer. I pay for the spot from the resort. The resort pays taxes/fees to the county or state. If the governement wants more money, go to the resorts for it. If they want to "tax" me so to say, (taxation by ticketing) give me the right to vote up there!
Next thing you will see is a rule requireing us campers to go for a ride down the road every year.
Two things. First, a camper trailer is not a fish house, and should not be subject to ticketing that I've heard of, and secondly, do you renew the license on your trailer every year? Point being trailers are licensed thru motor vehicles and are not considered to be used for ice fishing.
__________________
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots away.
I do not keep the tabs on my trailer current. Most don't at my resort. Why should I? I don't move it. You need a license to pull a trailer down a public road, not keep it on private property. I'm not breaking any Minnesota state law.
That said, it would not surprise me one bit if the county required it and made resort owners accountable for it.
Like I said, I don't see the difference with an ice house. No one was breaking any state law to keep a privatly owned ice house on private property. This new law is BS and I suspect it would not hold up in court if challenged.
If the state wants to madate ice house and camper licenses regardless of use, then the state should do it. (I can vote on this. Or better said, I can vote out the idiots that pass the law) The county should stay out of state business or give me the right to vote up there so I have some say in the way thing are done!!
Lets face it. The county is acting on the complaints of neighboring property owners who dont want a resort next door. Nothing would please them more than to see the resort fold. Making as many new rules and new taxes as possible is their game plan. Reminds me of the new condo owner who bought a house next to a farm and complains about the smell of the cows!!
I understand your feelings, but remember that most resorts operate under regulations for "fish house parks", not "Camper/RV parks". There is a difference, and the county wants to enforce the regs.
Don't misunderstand me, I am not pro county on this. Just explaining it as I see it and understand it to be.
__________________
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots away.
I looked at it this way.I paid X amount of dollars to a resort to have a fish house there and they pay taxes on the place with some of that money.So indirectly I was paying taxes on it.I dont think it is actually right for me to have to pay taxes on something I am just renting anyway and dont gain any value or equity out of.Just like renting property or a house you dont pay the taxes on it the owner does.However this might not be the same way ML county is looking at it.
I have to agree 100% with Rob here. So what if some people are using fishouses as a cabin at Hunters, Macs, the Wharf, etc? How is this any different than someone that has a RV down at the family camp ground in Isle? (I know, because ML county says so) Some of them have been there for years and have rotten tires. Is ML county going to make them visit Katio State Park once a year!!
I don't have a problem with every house having to have a license on it. It just seems that ML county is making the rules up as they go. If anyone is wondering, my shack is out on Shaws Reef without a license on it. It's in my wallet..
-- Edited by lakestatefishing at 16:47, 2009-01-02
I guess the big difference between an RV and a fish house is most RVs (not all) dont get used in the winter months.
This could be a good or bad thing depending on how you use your fish house up there.If you only use it as a cabin on shore its probably not a good thing but still might only require a trip around the block so it was moved once a year.I could see some people leaving because of this.However from a resort stand point it may be a good thing.They benefit if people come up and use there ice house in the winter.
It just seems that ML county is making the rules up as they go.
Sure does.
This certainly is a descrimatory law. It only applies to landowners who are resort owners. I could pay any other landowner on the lake for ice house storage and the law would not apply to me. Or I could be a landowner (Cabin owner or any other business like a gas station) and keep any unlicensed ice house on my property no problem. It's BS and probably unconstitutional.
Again with the MLCounty regs , If you have more than I believe its 2, maybe 3 ice houses on your property, you are required by law to have a conditional use permit. Its all zoning laws here, and the county seems to want to get rid of "fish house parks".
__________________
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots away.
jack is right, 3 or more fish houses is the cutoff. any more than that, you need a conditional use permit. there is a committy that has been working on this, i think that george is on it. with less LGA money every year, counties are forced to look at other sources of income......................tom fellegy
I am a Lake Michigan Charter Boat capt/ operator for 28 years and have dealt with Coast Guard, federal, state, and local government agencies/ taxing bodies for an eternity. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm getting real ticked off about "revenue generating stream" politics on the federal, state, and local level. It seems that every activity in our daily lives brings revenue in to these politicians for them to decide where the money goes. In my home state of Illinois, where everything is for sale and our governors now make our license plates, they've raised licence fees for all motor vehicles in the state 120% in the past 5 years, telling us at the same time that the addtional funds raised will go directly to road maintenance. Our roads still suck worse than ever and now they want even more money this year. Where all did this money go? The local government bodies have learned this lesson well and will stop at nothing to form new taxing bodies [ ie: sanitary districts, health dept's, forest preserve districts, water commisions, etc. ] that can generate "new" streams of revenue by creating new ordinances. It's all legal and these people have no consciences because it's not their money coming out of their OWN pockets. The latest is that the Feds want to raise the fuel taxes on gas and diesel because the high price of fuel last year has caused people to drive less and become more fuel conscious, thereby reducing the amount of tax revenue generated to date. ALL government bodies view us taxpayers as just a revenue source. That's it! I have made a personal crusade of voting against ALL incumbents from all political offices. That is the only way, short of uprising, that the individual will ever hope to regain control of our own government.
I have a mobile home at a resort on the pond and i pay lot rent and taxes. 1800.00 for lot rent and 14.00 taxes and 250.00 electric a year.Electric and lot rent to the resort 14.00 to atkin county. Feel your pain.That why they booted all the fish houses out of fishers resort?
What I really find interesting about this is I asked quite a few people that have fish houses up there on and off of the ice and I cant find anyone else that has heard of this.Usually the ML Messenger reports stuff like this and I havnt seen anything there either.So maybe this is either just a rumor or there will be a lot of ticked off people when they show up in the spring and have a ticket on their house.I can see the day coming when it will only be trailer parks up there and fish houses will be confined to dead storage.
This came up last year when they had the meetings to discuss the proposed zoning changes the county was thinking of making. Remember all the talk back then that all the resorts could be put out of business.
They made it clear to everyone there that they were going to start checking to make sure that all fish houses at resorts on Mille Lacs within the county are being used/moved every year. They have the authority, and the law to back them up on it, so just get used to it.
Times are a changing around the lake. Just be glad it hasn't turned into another Minnetonka or Gull lake yet. As it is, young people with money to spend, are having a very hard time finding places on lakes to have their fun summer "cabins". Tonka, Waconia, Gull, Cross, they all are covered with rich men's palacial "cabins" and the lakes are over run with speed boats, cigarette boats, yachts, PWC, skiers, and wake boarders. Conform to the regs of the county so we can keep fish houses on the lake, or in time, we'll have our favorite fishing lake over run with all those people and their toys.
Can you imagine Hunter's Point turned into a Lord Fletcher's or a Maynards??
NO THANK YOU!!
__________________
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots away.
I really have to agree with Jack here. It makes me sick and I am tired of all the regs., etc. But the point Jack makes about becoming a Gull or Minnetonka is real! It is obvious the county would prefer this.
Things will never be as they were, but if we follow their new bull*** rules, we can hopefully keep what we do have.
That being said, can anyone tell me if this just includes houses used during the summer or would this include dead storage as well?
I remember when this came up and they were suposed to put together a commitee with a couple resort owners and some city people.Then after that they decided to drop it but I think it was handed down to the zoneing dept.I figured this wasnt going to go completely away but I never heard of anything till just recently.I know they also mentioned sewer systems which is a big deal by lakes and more showers and bathrooms per guests.Im sure this will be looked at again in the future.This was one of the reasons I sold my fish house up there.I figured this was a warning shot when they first brought it up and things would be changing down the road.I know a lot of people I have talked to lately are also considering selling their fish houses up there.Its a pretty good deal for a winter package and dead storage but it is getting a little pricey for some year round.If they start making the resorts upgrade sewer systems and add more facilitys I can only see the price going up.I know the place I had my shack used to have a waiting list to get in and now they have quite a few empty spaces and it seems to be growing.I dont see this efffecting Hunters much as George runs a good bussiness there.He takes care of his customers and has great food and service and that means a lot these days.None of this will effect me anymore but it will have an effect on the people that are still there and on the Resorts.One thing about Mille Lacs you can always count on things changing.
, If you have more than I believe its 2, maybe 3 ice houses on your property, you are required by law to have a conditional use permit. Its all zoning laws here, and the county seems to want to get rid of "fish house parks". 
