State land commissioners were on the verge Tuesday of resolving a long-standing dispute over public access to “The Point” at Hauser Lake when they decided to wait a month instead.

State Controller J.D. Williams said he’d like to take a look at the spot, and figured a decision that’s waited this long can wait another month.

Garth Everett, who bought the land in 1991, angered area fishermen when he tried to put up a fence between Hauser Lake Road and the water. Everett said people were parking motor homes on the land, crowding it and littering. He bought 32 acres surrounding the point and built a home overlooking it.

After angry people signed petitions and appealed to the state Department of Lands, the department said the land on the lake side of the road might be fill added to widen the road. If so, it was within the high-water mark and belonged to the state, not Everett.

But extensive studies have determined that fill and natural shoreline are mixed. After long negotiations, the state and Everett agreed to a compromise: The state will deed its interest in land along both sides of the point to Everett, and Everett will deed his interest in the tip of the point to the state.

That will allow continued public access at the popular fishing site, Land Department attorney Stephanie Balzarini told the Land Board on Tuesday. It also would allow Everett to build a dock along his portion.

The board will consider the issue in July.

, DataTimes