The results of the reader poll at AlbertLeaTribune.com are interesting.

The question read: “Fountain Lake is green from an abundance of algae. It would cost $12,000 to treat the lake with copper sulfate, making it blue for the remainder of the warm months. What solution do you prefer?”

There were five choices to pick from.

Nine percent wanted the city of Albert Lea to pay for it. Five percent wanted the Shell Rock River Watershed District to pay for it. Nine percent wanted the city and watershed district to split the cost. Twenty-nine percent wanted the city, county and watershed district to share the cost. Forty-six percent favored letting it stay green.

(The computer program rounds off the percentages, so that’s why they don’t equal 100 percent.)

If you consider the first four choices also meant “treat the lake,” by adding them up, you find a majority of voters favored some sort of treatment for the lake.

To be sure, this is not a scientific poll, but it sure does indicate that local residents are hotly divided on the issue. A lot of people are willing to pay to make the lake blue, while others either simply want to save money or else favor conservation techniques to reduce the excessive algae bloom.

Either way, there needs to be leadership on this issue. There needs to be a clear plan. How will Albert Lea address Fountain Lake’s annual “wearing of the green”?