Often times, the line between public and private is blurry at best.

That was never more evident than the recent request by a Winona Lake landowner seeking to have a public right-of-way vacated so he can reclaim use of property he owns.

There was just one problem. Forty years ago a private service organization, renowned for its good public works, had been allowed to build a building on the "private" land - 25 years before the current property owner purchased the land.

Now, the desire of Jim and Lisa LeMasters seems straightforward enough. They want to build a home on the picturesque and historic island in Winona Lake. They needed more space than their current lot has, so they began searching for the owner of the adjoining property - the property on which the Winona Lake Lions Club building is located - so they could make an offer for it.

Lo and behold, to their surprise, the LeMasters discovered that they were the rightful owners of that property. There was just one problem.

The Town of Winona Lake had claimed, but never exercised, a right-of-way on the eastern portion of their property. Then in 1959, the Winona Lake Lions Club was permitted - albeit in violation of state statute - to construct a building for them and other community organizations to use as a meeting place.

That was the situation in the intervening years - and everyone was happy.

Then the LeMasters did their title search, made their surprising discovery and requested the town renounce its claim to the right-of-way. That, by necessity, would also mean the Lions Club and the other community organizations that use the building as a place to meet, unless the LeMasters were to open their proposed new home to the group for their meetings - an unlikely scenario.

When faced with this weighty issue, the Winona Lake Town Council essentially punted. They voted to deny the vacation of right-of-way request, but that still left open the question of the Lion's Club being in a public right-of-way illegally.

It would seem that the only way remaining to resolve this conundrum would be a lengthy and costly litigation battle, where the town, the LeMasters and the Lions - all with competent legal representation - slug it out before a judge.

But is that really necessary?

What if there was a way to relocate the Lions to a new building that wouldn't cost them anything, thereby saving everyone a lot of legal bills and sparing everyone a lot of hurt feelings?

I have a proposal that may just meet the needs of everyone involved. One in which the LeMasters don't lose anything, one where the Lions can get a new "legal" building, and the community, as a whole, can reap the benefits.

I propose the town exercise its right-of-way option on the property now occupied by the Lions Club building. Then the town could remove the building, construct a short access road and install a new boat ramp to replace the one that was unceremoniously removed from the property recently.

The town could charge a launching fee for boaters using the ramp, with the proceeds evenly divided into two accounts. One would be used to pay the LeMasters back for the part of their property they never knew they had, but lost anyway; and the other half to be used to help pay for a new and improved Lion's Club building

It seems to me that this is a fair solution to everyone involved. The LeMasters receive an unexpected windfall for a heretofore unknown asset. The Lions Club gets a new building in a legal location, and the public gets a new boat ramp to increase their enjoyment of a prime recreational area.

Surely this can be a workable solution for the fair-minded, community-focused residents of Winona Lake.

And then this quiet historic town can return to its peaceful existence. [[In-content Ad]]