by Sherry Lynn Gros for The Highland Park Review April 14, 2025
From 2019 to 2021, I filed a lawsuit against a consortium of individuals who dewatered Lake Optimist, which was impounded in 1937 for purposes of soil erosion mitigation, downstream buffering, and recreation, including fishing, hunting, and swimming. This group of unlicensed engineers drained our 25-acre reservoir on Milkhouse Creek, a navigable stream, without a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as required by law under the Clean Water Act, despite being informed that they were violating federal regulations. During the lawsuit, the attorneys shifted the focus of the argument from a federal matter to a civil issue, diminishing its seriousness and turning it into what felt like a petty neighborhood dispute. This was a misdirection; the primary issue should have been the protection of federally contracted wetlands downstream (contiguous) from the dam. I believe the attorneys did this to undermine the gravity of the situation and to protect the interests of the City and County, as well as their future development plans to “take” that land for potential water development and to pursue environmental grants down the line. Shortly after I initiated the lawsuit, misleading signs were placed inciting the neighborhoods and stakeholders across three subdivisions, witnessed by approximately 600 residents across the area and on social media. This was just one of many instances over the years where my efforts to preserve our 25-acre wetland reservoir faced opposition. I have remained steadfast in my commitment to restore the area and safeguard the land that was deeded to the Highland Park Community Association, all while others have attempted to seize it for personal gain, jeopardizing both the land and the future of our community. These individuals employed smear campaigns, spread false information, created chaos, and used various common tactics associated with this type of anarchic behavior. Notably, those responsible for damaging our dam are also linked to the recent takeover of Big Creek Lake. This suggests a coordinated effort among friends, relatives, and colleagues aimed at controlling every tributary in our region. It is time to Take Back Big Creek Lake from MAWSS Representative Shane Stringer, District 102 (Case No: CV-2019-903333.00). Sincerely, Lynn Gros, President Highland Park Community Association, Inc.