Fishermen parking in the Country Club Drive area prompted LaGrange City Council to hold a public hearing on extending the no-parking zone there.

Anglers head for West Point Lake, which is managed by Army Corps of Engineers. To do so, they park on city streets, and some walk on residents’ property.

As a resident of the neighborhood, Councilman Tom Gore stepped down and spoke at the hearing this week as a private individual, expressing the concerns of those who live near Country Club Road and asking the city to provide some sort of jurisdiction for the neighborhood.

“When you have somebody who’s parked at the end of your street at 8 (p.m.) and there’s nobody else around and you’re in the house by yourself and somebody’s out there wandering around your property … who do you call?” Gore said. “You call the city of LaGrange and they say, ‘Well, they’re on corps property. You can’t do anything about it.’ “

Residents of Clubview, Country Club and Lakeshore drives said they are concerned about a lack of sight distance due to fishermen parking on the side of Cameron and Country Club for easy lake access.

An increase in break-ins and robberies have resulted in some car break-ins and thefts of power tools, but Gore said that didn’t necessarily mean the fishers were the culprits.

A no-parking area already exists between Hollis Hand Elementary School and the entrance to Country Club Drive. After a study of the area, LaGrange police recommended an additional 100 feet of no parking on Cameron Mill from its intersection with Country Club, but made no recommendation on additional no-parking spots near residential areas.

“Anybody who wants to fish in the lake has to find proper parking because it makes it dangerous to park on the side of the road,” Mayor Jeff Lukken said. “I’ve seen some cars with their rear end pulled out and others blocking that line of sight.”

The residential areas, however, are “really not a sight distance or public safety kind of issue,” City Manager Tom Hall said.

A few fishermen were peeved about the proposed ordinance. Paul Synoground and Derek Turner were fishing near Cameron Mill on Wednesday.

“That means we have to find someplace else to fish,” Synoground said.

Cameron Mill isn’t his primary fishing spot, but he and Turner go there to relax after a hard day.

More often than not, the fish they catch are given away to someone in need rather than kept.

A few paved spots off the side Cameron Mill Road near the bridge past Country Club Drive can hold two or three cars - otherwise, cars must be parked on the grass.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if they put more concrete,” Synoground said. “It’s a good place to relax.

Councilman Willie Edmondson asked about additional parking that could be provided in the areas not owned by the Corps of Engineers or about speaking with corps officials to see what they would allow in the area.

Applying jurisdiction to the area is problematic because the corps owns the property where the fishermen park, said David Brown, director of public services for the city, but they have no way to enforce the safety issues. LaGrange police have enough to enforce it, but the city has no control over the property.

“It’s not like somebody’s trying to stop people from fishing. All along I’ve said to people in the neighborhood ‘(These are) folks that want to go fishing,’ ” Gore said. “That’s OK, but it just developed into a little more than that.”

Lukken said: “There’s going to be a trade-off. No parking, and then there’s going to be some kids that are going to get tickets.”

Gore hadn’t spoken with neighborhood residents on the drawbacks of having no parking on the street, including tickets that could be given to teenagers parked at friends’ houses.

“The only solution we could come up with was to try the no-park area so that the city would have some tool to ask people to leave,” Gore said.

Another public hearing is planned for Tuesday. City officials will attempt to contact corps spokesman David Barr to discuss the matter.

Also Tuesday, council approved:

n A Gateway Grant submission to the state Department of Transportation for $50,000 that would provide funds for a beautification project at the Interstate 85 exit to Lafayette Parkway. The city would be responsible for upkeep of plants planned for the spot.

n Modifying residential and commercial gas rates due to a base rate increase from Southern Natural Gas. Bills will increase $1.73 per month for residential customers and $7.89 for commercial customers, although bills are expected to be lower than usual this winter due to gas prices being low.

n An on-premise consumption beer, wine and liquor license for Keum Soo Kang San restaurant at 1510 Lafayette Parkway. The Korean restaurant will be at the site that formerly housed a movie theater.

Trey Wood can be reached at twood@ lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.