TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Lake Denton's Boaters

ADVERTISEMENT

Allen M. Johnson

Published: January 6, 2008

Since its creation, I've been an active participant in each of the Lake Denton Committee meetings. It's been my shared opinion with others, this issue revolves around overcrowding at the boat ramp by scuba divers seeking certification, a lack of parking space in the immediate neighborhood for them, and some of the illicit and/or illegal activities that too often occurs in secluded areas.

Working together, committee members, county employees and several other concerned people have developed a short-term plan that will reopen Lake Denton to the public. I'm glad to say they've made a lot of progress and presented the proposals to the Board of County Commissioners. However, I am very much opposed to one particular aspect of the committee's recommendation.

In order to pay for (or at least offset) the costs of improvements and needed personnel, a per diver fee of $25 per day was agreed upon. This amount, after much discussion by the divers present, was deemed to be reasonable and a customary cost incurred as part of their normal certification process. This fee would be waived for the instructors and "Dive Masters" present.

Although there was more than one person presenting an opposing view, the committee agreed that these same fees should apply to recreational boaters and fishermen as well. And herein lies my disagreement with the committee's opinion.

Unlike scuba diving, a portion of the taxes collected on the purchase of a fishing license, a boat and its registration, motor, trailer, fishing gear, etc. - goes towards maintaining and/or creating public points of access, ie. boat ramps, marinas and docks. These dollars also support many of the fish, wildlife and habitat conservation/restoration programs that benefit all of our residents, visitors and Highlands County as a whole. It is one of the most successful user-pay programs in the United States.

To my knowledge, and in my life's experience, there isn't a public boat ramp in Florida (fresh or saltwater) that charges to launch a boat. This greatly fuels my opinion that arbitrarily applying the per diver fees to fishermen is not only unreasonable but, will in effect preclude recreational boaters and fishermen from using Lake Denton's boat ramp. Some I've spoken with seemingly shrug this off as being part of the committee's intent – to reduce traffic and the number of people using the what(?) – the public boat ramp.

Something I first heard two years ago and again since then, according to some of the Lake Denton residents, "Boaters were never the problem." I believe this is yet one more thing to keep in mind as we work towards an equitable and reasonable solution that will reopen this area for the public to enjoy.

Allen M. Johnson
Avon Park

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT