Public Comment Sought for County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan

Douglas County has completed an updated draft of its Hazard Mitigation Plan and is now seeking public feedback. 

All county residents, as well as other interested stakeholders (those in neighboring coutnies, or working with affected agencies) are strongly encourages to review and offer feedback on the Interactive website, PDF of the draft plan, and proposed local mitigation actions. The review and comment perios is open to a period of 15 days through December 22, 2022. The Public can access the plan using the following links:

Douglas County HMP Website 

Mitigation Action Charts 

Public Comment Feedback Form 

Canvassing Board Meeting

Canvassing Board Meeting is on Friday, November 11th at 5:00 p.m. at Forada City Hall. 

The Canvassing Board will canvass the election results and verify election results. No other items will be discussed by the council other than to verify the election totals and approve the election results.

Thank you for all who came out to vote! We had 84 voters in person and 10 vote absentee early voters. We also had 6 new registered voters this election. Total registered voters for Forada at beginning of elections was 124 so a very good percentage for our precinct.

Neighboring Night Dinner at Calvary

Please come for Neighboring Night on Tuesday, November 29th at 6:00 p.m. at Calvary Lutheran Church.

Another gathering and meal has been scheduled for all those affected by the Douglas County tornados. The meal will be covered by a Thrivent Action Team.

Brush Dumps Site Closed on September 28th by County

The county has closed the debris removal site in Hudson Township. Effective September 28 no additional debris will be accepted at that site.

The trees and branches will be mulched in the near future. The county thanks everyone who brought only the allowed items which made for a successful community-wide vegetative debris site.

Maple Lake Clean Up Information from Douglas County

NOTICE!!! The clean up of Maple Lake has been moved a week due to high winds. 

The clean up of Maple Lake is scheduled to begin Tuesday, June 14 at 8 a.m. the staging area will be the north Public Water Access on Maple Lake.

Materials that are in the water of the lake will be removed if it is feasible to do so with the equipment available.  Materials/items will not be removed if they meet the following:

• If the item or material is on land above the water.
• If the item or material extends from land above the water (i.e.; dock, boat tied to shore, fallen tree)
• If the item is clearly identifiable as belonging to an adjacent property owner or ownership of the item can be identified (watercraft #)

Debris will be removed from the lake by DNR and Lake Service Provider Crews and transported to the north Public Water Access (PWA) on Maple Lake.  At this access, dumpsters will be staged and DNR and Douglas County staff will be accepting the materials and sorting them into the appropriate dumpsters.  Materials will be sorted as follows:

• Construction and demolition (C&D) waste
• Mixed municipal waste
• Recyclable metals
• Reusable or reclaimed items (dock decking, whole items)
• Tree materials

As dumpsters fill, they will be hauled away and replaced.  Tree and branches will be transported to the staging area at the Duininck Gravel Mine.  Some items retrieved from the lake may also be recovered by property owners or reused, such as swim platforms, dock decking, or other items.  These items will be set aside for a short time to allow property owner to reclaim them prior to disposal.

From Dave Rush:

It is requested property owners mark their property that is in the lake that they may intend to keep.  Boats should be docked or tied to land, lifts and docks should either extend from their property or be tied to the property.  It may also be helpful if they label large items that are theirs with a name or to note “Do Not Remove” or “Not Refuse”.

If there’s any question if an item belongs to a property, we will leave it.  Unless the item is so mangled or is in pieces, then we will likely remove it.