City Council Closes Public Beach at Lily Lake for 2013 Swimming Season

The beach at Lily Lake will remain closed for the 2013 swimming season.

The Stillwater City Council on Tuesday night unanimously voted to close the public beach at Lily Lake for the 2013 swimming season, at a minimum. The Stillwater Public Works Department will be posting signs stating the beach is closed by May 15.

“Given what has happened there, I urge you to close it—at a minimum for this season,” City Administrator Larry Hansen told council members. “You can always choose to reopen it later on if additional information indicates it’s wise to do so.”

Public beaches generally open Memorial Day weekend.

In the last three years, two children—Annie Bahneman and Jack Ariola Erenberg—have died from Naegleria fowleri after swimming in Lily Lake.

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The Center for Disease Control and the Minnesota Department of Health, view the closing of the beach strictly as a city decision, Hansen said, so they won’t give the city any further recommendations regarding the closure.

To close the beach, the city will simply post several signs stating the beach is closed by order of the City Council, and police will be advised to monitor that, Hansen said.

“This isn’t closing the lake,” Hansen said. “It is simply closing the public beach, which is where I believe our liability lies. There is a difference between the two, and it’s pretty vast.”