The Lake Ronkonkoma Improvement Society says the area surrounding the body of water needs a major cleanup.

Evelyn Vollgraff told News 12 Long Island that the group has offered to help the town clean the area of debris left from the burnt down Lake Front Hotel bookstore and other garbage that is scattered about the region. She says they were told by officials that they were not allowed to conduct a cleanup since they did not own the land.

Group members say they blame the cleanup delay on the three towns - Smithtown, Brookhaven and Islip - as well as Suffolk County. Each municipality owns a portion of the Lake, which residents say results in frustration and what they call "passing the buck."

Brookhaven and Islip say Suffolk owns most of the land around the lake, including the burned out store. Suffolk says that site will be cleaned up sometime in September.

The group hopes to return Lake Ronkonkoma to a place people could enjoy during the summer months. It will hold a meeting on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the District Fire House to discuss future improvements.