They should start by not letting you out unless you have a CT Boating Safty Cert!!! prior to charging? And what happends when Highland and other lakes decide to charge.
An Act Concerning A Candlewood Lake Boat Sticker Program passed a motion to raise as a concept in a six minute meeting of the Environment Committee last Friday. It was item #42 on a 50 item agenda. All the agenda items will be considered by the Committee, and there's more to come.
Read the article. They are proposing yearly fees also for out of State and in State. The new owners are also charging anyone with Lkae rights, meaning if you live in a community or directly on the lake a $200 fee "Just Because".
Personally something has to be done to get a few more patrols out there and the state should enforce that everyone have a safe boaters sticker. We have out of state people launching there and staying on the lake all weekend without paying a dime or taking any kind of course. Each year there is an increase of Tournaments and recreational use and more and more residents with lake access. Cwood is going to be a sad story in 10 years unless they do something.
CHANGE IS SCARY BUT IT IS REWARDING ON THE OTHER SIDE!
SURELY MISS MY CTF FRIENDS BUT ALWAYS WILL BE HERE TO GIVE ALL A HARD TIME!
Registered: 08/26/02
Posts: 18003
Loc: New Milford, and Anywhere Salt...
Candlewood Lake Authority proposes boat sticker fees By Robert Miller Staff Writer Article Last Updated: 02/09/2008 05:07:47 AM EST
It could cost local boaters $50 a year -- and out-of-state sailors $100 -- to spend a summer cruising Candlewood Lake.
That's the cost now being proposed for a boat sticker program that would apply to all boats launched in the lake. Boaters who use the lake only once or twice a year would pay $20 each time if they are state residents, $30 if they are non-residents.
No motorized boat would be exempt, but sailboats under 19.5 feet long, canoes and kayaks could brave the lake free of charge.
At a meeting Friday at the New Fairfield Library, Larry Marsicano, the executive director of the Candlewood Lake Authority, released the proposal for the boat sticker program, including a range of fees.
Marsicano said the program would need the approval of the state Department of Environmental Protection. The General Assembly would also need to approve legislation to create the program, because it would be the first of its kind in the state.
Marsicano said the plan -- under disMarsicano said the plan -- under discussion for several years -- would do two things many people believe need to be done on Candlewood Lake: improve public safety patrols and make all the boaters who use Candlewood pay a share of its upkeep.
"And the DEP is adamant about one issue," Marsicano said. "Whatever we approve, it can't restrict access to the lake."
Currently, the five towns around the lake -- plus First Light Power Resources Inc., the hydroelectric power utility that owns the lake -- each contribute about $60,000 a year to the Candlewood Lake Authority. A good share of that money -- about $150,000 -- pays for the boat patrols that enforce safety rules on the lake. But while residents and towns pay to manage the lake, thousands of people in and out of Connecticut use the lake, gaining access to it through state boat launches and private marinas.
This has left many residents believing out-of-town boaters get all the benefits of the lake while paying none of the cost of running it.
The boat sticker fee would remedy that, Marsicano said. Anyone would uses the lake would have to buy a sticker, with out-of-state boaters paying more than those who live in Connecticut. The money would then be used to pay for the Candlewood Lake Authority boat patrols.
The towns would, in turn, see their share of contributions to the authority reduced. The sticker program would pay for the patrols, not the towns.
Marsicano said when he began thinking about the program, he figured the fees would be lower.
But he said it's generally recognized that the boat patrols, which spend about 2,000 hours per year on the lake, need to add another 1,000 hours per year.
That added time could mean monitoring places like the state boat ramp at Lattins Cove, which is often overcrowded, noisy and garbage-strewn.
Marsicano said a patrol program also has to budget in the cost of buying new boats and engines, because they get plenty of wear each year. The authority finally estimated it would need about $350,000 per year to run the patrol program properly. That, in turn, led to the higher sticker fee estimates.
At Friday's meeting, New Milford Mayor Patricia Murphy was skeptical of the plan, saying the boat sticker fee was a tax under another name.
"The Candlewood Lake Authority was created to do this already," she said. "We already pay for it.''
And by setting the fee high, she said, boating on Candlewood Lake would become "a rich man's right."
But Marsicano argued that one tank of gas for a boat now costs at least $50. So a $50 boat sticker isn't an outrageous fee, he said.
James Marquis, the president of the Candlewood Lake Users and Boaters Association -- Club A -- also attended the meeting. But when New Fairfield First Selectman John Hodge said Marquis couldn't speak at the meeting, he immediately strode out.
"This is ridiculous," Marquis said. "What can I do here? Why should I stay?"
In the past, Club A members have suggested that a boat sticker program be used to offset the fees First Light plans to charge homeowners as part of its proposed shoreline management plan.
At Friday's meeting, Marsicano said neither the DEP nor the General Assembly would allow that.
"It's a deal-breaker," he said.
At the urging of the selectmen and mayors at the meeting, Marsicano agreed to provide the towns with a detailed list of the benefits they'll receive from the boat sticker program, as well as a financial breakdown to show the towns what they'll save if the sticker program pays for Candlewood's patrols.
"I want to make sure there's a value added for the towns," Hodge said.
I'm not fat, I'm fluffy!
Judge Smails:
"Its easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat. But the man worth while is the man that can smile with his shorts too tight in the seat."
Putting additional money in the hands of a private association with the blessings of state government seems like a bad idea to me. Why not have the DEP issue the sticker as they do for state parks now and then the DEP can provide assistance to specifically pay for things they are in agreement with such as enforcement.
If the association is currently paying "X" dollars what keeps them from taking the money from the stickers, not increasing their output for safety, etc. and using it for purposes of lobbying for things more favorable to residents around the lake?
Currently, the five towns around the lake -- plus First Light Power Resources Inc., the hydroelectric power utility that owns the lake -- each contribute about $60,000 a year to the Candlewood Lake Authority. A good share of that money -- about $150,000 -- pays for the boat patrols that enforce safety rules on the lake.
I would have to agree with the mayor of New Milford on this one. She disagrees with the tax as do many. Candlewood lake authority recieves 360,000.00 yearly and only 150,000.00 goes towards patrols. I would like to know what the other 210,000.00 is being used for.
Registered: 11/13/05
Posts: 1132
Loc: New Milford CT
Guys some of you know me. And know that I have been an advocate for lobbying for our rights for years as the Conservation Director for the former CT Bass Federation. I am now taking on this position for THE TBF of CT. I need your help! There is power in Numbers Please send A letter to the DEP expressing your concerns over this FEE.
Dave THE BASS Federation Nation also needs to be active on this one and I am sure you are.
Please focus on this issue.
This is one of the biggest Hurdles we face in the near future. If this goes through, on this lake, the avalanche effect will be state wide. Basically you can figure on just fishing a few lakes a year, the ones you purchase a sticker for. 3 lakes a day will be a 150 dollar event or more just in FEES. What’s to stop Bantam or Pachaug or any other lake in the state from saying they want 100 dollars for their sticker.
Have a safe time on the water and may that tight line be pulling back.
A member of Schaghticoke Bassmasters http://members.tripod.com/~bassmasters_ct/index.html A member of the TBF. The Bass Federation Tournament Bass Fishing for everyone. http://www.ct-tbf.com/
Registered: 11/13/05
Posts: 1132
Loc: New Milford CT
Originally Posted By: BigLee
I need your help! There is power in Numbers Please send A letter to the DEP expressing your concerns over this FEE.
Dave THE BASS Federation Nation also needs to be active on this one and I am sure you are.
Guys I need to rephrase this I Live on the Lake I really don't need your Help. I can go fishing any day I want out there.
My property gives me access. Does yours? Do you want to see this happen on every lake in the state that has a homeowners group?
I encurage and advise you to write THE DEP over this issue. If this goes through do not claim that you were not forewarned. Do not cry if you just sat there and did nothing. This is the largest fishing group in the state if we all write a letter this will not go through. It is not about Emails, Faxes or Petitions. It is About Letters and Phone Calls. B.A.S.S. Trained the Conservation Directors on the best way to get noticed by politicians and Government bodies. This is what the Lobbyist that they paid to teach us told us. Phone Calls and Individual letters. I do not think Latin's Cove would be open today if it was not for the Effort Of the membership of the CT Bass Federations letter writing campaign back in the early 1990's .
Have a safe time on the water and may that tight line be pulling back.
A member of Schaghticoke Bassmasters http://members.tripod.com/~bassmasters_ct/index.html A member of the TBF. The Bass Federation Tournament Bass Fishing for everyone. http://www.ct-tbf.com/