BRODHEAD - When Rick and Lisa Josephson, owners of the Sweet Minihaha Campground, went to the Green County Land Use and Zoning committee meeting May 28, they were expecting to file the correct paperwork for their number of campsites, not to hear the public backlash from the crowd of about 30 residents who showed up.
Most of the neighbors to the campground got up and spoke, voicing their concerns about anything from noise, to drugs, to nudity occurring at the campground. The meeting continued into the night due to the growing complaints of neighbors to the campground.
Rick and Lisa said they felt embittered by the ordeal.
"Of course some of it was embellished," Rick said. "No one was running over cats like somebody said, in fact we get some of the neighbors over here asking if they could sell their cats to our campers."
The camp is green, very green, and on its way to being manicured as one of the staff members pulls weeds along the bank of the Sugar River. The river looks like slow-moving chocolate milk; it's not deep, but the murk makes it look that way. A solitary kayaker and a couple of tubers float along. On a lazy weekday the camp moves slowly, in contrast to what some neighbors say the weekends are like.
Full-season folks camp with their trailers and add-on decks for the whole summer. Some of those decks may have to go, and a few of the RVs will need to be moved up to the main grounds away from the floodplain.
Vicki Chamberlin has been coming up to Sweet Minihaha for about 20 years. She has a big red deck behind her RV. She said she spends as much time there as she can. She works four days on, four days off at Walmart in Rockford and has her grandsons stay with her as much as possible.
"My site is designed around my grandsons," she said.
Chamberlin said the complaints are unfounded. She said the campground is the perfect place for children. She said the noise the neighbors say is unbearable hardly bothers her since the bands and karaoke are supposed to shut down at 10:30 p.m.
Lisa Cihlar lives on Trail Road about 1,500 feet north of the campground. She said sometimes her windows rattle from the noise produced on weekends. Cihlar said the campground doesn't seem very family friendly, and the noise is her biggest issue with it.
"Last week was quiet; you can hear kids and stuff, but who cares about that," she said. "Kids playing are fine."
Larry and Cathy Stefanik live across the street from Cihlar and echoed her concerns. Larry said he has no quarrel with the Josephsons personally, he just wants the campers to quiet down. The Stefaniks moved onto Trail Road about seven years ago, just two years before Rick and Lisa bought the campground. Larry said they have made a lot of positive improvements to the grounds.
"As a whole they have done a really nice job with the place," he said. "But it's got a (reputation) as a bit of a rough place."
Larry and Cathy both cited incidents where campers come near their property and act "zoned out." Cathy said they appeared to be on drugs.
"We have nothing against small business," Larry said. "We don't want them to shut it down or anything. If they could just keep the noise down."
Rick said the campground has been very successful, especially the tube rentals. It costs $20 to rent a tube and a campsite for the night, and Rick said they routinely turn people away from lack of tubes. He said the fishing is good, too - walleye and bass frequent the river, and the beach on the west side is perfect for kids.
"The kids love it here; it's a far cry from no kids or families like some say," he said.
Rick and Lisa admit that at times the campground has gotten a little rowdy and law enforcement was called in.
"We are always the first to call, especially if they shoot off fireworks; we're adamant about that," Lisa said.
On the campground's Facebook page, Lisa described the zoning meeting as a "witch hunt" and later replied to a supporter of the campground, writing: "It almost felt like we were in a bad rendition of Footloose. And all the evil music!!"
Larry and Cathy said they had never spoken with Rick or Lisa about the noise or any other issue, but they said some of their neighbors had. Larry pointed to the Facebook post as an example of how this issue can't be resolved.
"They threw down the gauntlet and said, "This is war,'" he said.
At the hub of their operations on the campground, Lisa flicks at her hair and crosses her legs. Rick strokes his hand-length goatee several times and sits up.
"I could tell the people at the meeting were angry," Rick said. "It's hard not to be a little bitter towards them."
A recent post on the campground's Facebook page implored people to send positive letters to the Green County Zoning and Land Use committee. They are expecting to go in front of the committee again in the coming months.
Most of the neighbors to the campground got up and spoke, voicing their concerns about anything from noise, to drugs, to nudity occurring at the campground. The meeting continued into the night due to the growing complaints of neighbors to the campground.
Rick and Lisa said they felt embittered by the ordeal.
"Of course some of it was embellished," Rick said. "No one was running over cats like somebody said, in fact we get some of the neighbors over here asking if they could sell their cats to our campers."
The camp is green, very green, and on its way to being manicured as one of the staff members pulls weeds along the bank of the Sugar River. The river looks like slow-moving chocolate milk; it's not deep, but the murk makes it look that way. A solitary kayaker and a couple of tubers float along. On a lazy weekday the camp moves slowly, in contrast to what some neighbors say the weekends are like.
Full-season folks camp with their trailers and add-on decks for the whole summer. Some of those decks may have to go, and a few of the RVs will need to be moved up to the main grounds away from the floodplain.
Vicki Chamberlin has been coming up to Sweet Minihaha for about 20 years. She has a big red deck behind her RV. She said she spends as much time there as she can. She works four days on, four days off at Walmart in Rockford and has her grandsons stay with her as much as possible.
"My site is designed around my grandsons," she said.
Chamberlin said the complaints are unfounded. She said the campground is the perfect place for children. She said the noise the neighbors say is unbearable hardly bothers her since the bands and karaoke are supposed to shut down at 10:30 p.m.
Lisa Cihlar lives on Trail Road about 1,500 feet north of the campground. She said sometimes her windows rattle from the noise produced on weekends. Cihlar said the campground doesn't seem very family friendly, and the noise is her biggest issue with it.
"Last week was quiet; you can hear kids and stuff, but who cares about that," she said. "Kids playing are fine."
Larry and Cathy Stefanik live across the street from Cihlar and echoed her concerns. Larry said he has no quarrel with the Josephsons personally, he just wants the campers to quiet down. The Stefaniks moved onto Trail Road about seven years ago, just two years before Rick and Lisa bought the campground. Larry said they have made a lot of positive improvements to the grounds.
"As a whole they have done a really nice job with the place," he said. "But it's got a (reputation) as a bit of a rough place."
Larry and Cathy both cited incidents where campers come near their property and act "zoned out." Cathy said they appeared to be on drugs.
"We have nothing against small business," Larry said. "We don't want them to shut it down or anything. If they could just keep the noise down."
Rick said the campground has been very successful, especially the tube rentals. It costs $20 to rent a tube and a campsite for the night, and Rick said they routinely turn people away from lack of tubes. He said the fishing is good, too - walleye and bass frequent the river, and the beach on the west side is perfect for kids.
"The kids love it here; it's a far cry from no kids or families like some say," he said.
Rick and Lisa admit that at times the campground has gotten a little rowdy and law enforcement was called in.
"We are always the first to call, especially if they shoot off fireworks; we're adamant about that," Lisa said.
On the campground's Facebook page, Lisa described the zoning meeting as a "witch hunt" and later replied to a supporter of the campground, writing: "It almost felt like we were in a bad rendition of Footloose. And all the evil music!!"
Larry and Cathy said they had never spoken with Rick or Lisa about the noise or any other issue, but they said some of their neighbors had. Larry pointed to the Facebook post as an example of how this issue can't be resolved.
"They threw down the gauntlet and said, "This is war,'" he said.
At the hub of their operations on the campground, Lisa flicks at her hair and crosses her legs. Rick strokes his hand-length goatee several times and sits up.
"I could tell the people at the meeting were angry," Rick said. "It's hard not to be a little bitter towards them."
A recent post on the campground's Facebook page implored people to send positive letters to the Green County Zoning and Land Use committee. They are expecting to go in front of the committee again in the coming months.