Dreamer hasn’t given up on plans for Spirit Lake

California developer John Sempre hasn’t given up on Spirit Lake.

He’s still thinking, planning. And this weekend he’s making a visit to the Spirit Lake Property Owners Association’s annual meeting. He’s even bringing an entourage – a new team of California-based marketers, architects and other planner types whom Sempre calls world class – to inspect the little town.

It’s almost as if Sempre hopes they will gaze at the sparkling water and the hodgepodge of Maine Street buildings, many of which are bars, and have a revelation – a development to propel the town toward its potential.

“It’s not as easy as it looks,” Sempre said earlier this week in a telephone interview from California. “We need a fresh idea.”

Yet he’s tight-lipped on the possibilities.

The pharmacist, who admits he’s the furthest thing from a developer, has had lots of ideas since 1999 when he first took possession of nearly 300 acres as part of a debt owed to him by a California doctor. At the time, Sempre said the waterfront timberland looked “pretty nice.” Besides, he needed a new interest.

“This is strictly a hobby with me,” Sempre said in a 2001 interview. “I could move as slow as I want on this.”

And three years later he is still creeping along, just like the sluggish pace of Spirit Lake that’s been constant since the lumber mill closed in 1939.

He often thinks about the town, pays for studies and visits several times a year. He’s even donated about $9,000 in the last two years to keep the free summer concert series going. The Spirit Lake Chamber of Commerce is having a dinner Saturday night at Uncle Bill’s Mule Café to honor his generosity.

Yet there’s no urgency for Sempre. Southwood Pharmaceuticals Inc., which repackages and redistributes pharmaceuticals, is booming and yachts are his new hobby.

Sempre’s initial vision was for a golf course, marina and small ski hill with about 400 homes just off the lakeshore that would have quickly doubled the town’s population.

Those plans were put on hold until Sempre could figure out how to plug the leaky Mill Pond, where the water would drain each year leaving a cracked clay bed.

To most everyone’s surprise, Sempre succeeded. He got grants, permits and even cash from homeowners around the lake to plug the cracks and holes. Even after this summer’s soaring temperatures, the pond is full of water.

This accomplishment has helped give locals patience with Sempre and hope that someday, some project will happen.

“He’s with the program,” said Silver Beach Resort owner Terry Schlabs, who serves on the property association board. “He’s here to explore some more possibilities.”

Today’s annual meeting at the fire station will include an update from Sempre along with talks about the aquatic weeds.

Mayor Roxy Martin said she hasn’t yet talked with Sempre since he arrived in town. And people don’t talk about him as much anymore.

“It’s like he’s kind of gone away,” Martin said. “He will eventually do something or he will sell it. Who knows.”

Sempre nixed the golf course theme, figuring there were too many greens in the area and the season is too short.

Then Sempre was hyped about recreating the entire town, not just his waterfront property.

Last year, he commissioned a study of job creation possibilities. He forecast that Spirit Lake residents could work in a marketing center related to his pharmaceuticals business. Once residents had good jobs, Sempre would act as a bank and loan people money to build homes.

This week, Sempre said job creation is still crucial to any plan but that his business was growing too rapidly and there wasn’t the space in Spirit Lake to handle his marketing needs.

Sempre doesn’t care how long it takes to come up with a plan. Money is no problem, and neither is time.

“I’m not doing it for the money – obviously,” Sempre said. “I want to make sure what I do is something that works.