Wish it were that cheap in WA.

BS

"Garrison Hilliard" wrote in message
...
Boaters grumble about fees in Ky.

By James Malone
The Courier-Journal



A day out on the lake is more expensive than it was last year.

Kentucky has begun charging $3 a day to launch all boats and watercraft on
state-owned ramps at 14 lakes.

An annual pass costs $30 for residents and $50 for non residents. And
you'd better keep your receipt or have your season sticker - rangers will
fine scofflaws $50 for each violation.

The fee is intended to raise about $200,000 a year for repairs and cleanup
at the ramps and parking areas, state officials said. The fee also is
expected to relieve crowding at state boat ramps, which many people use to
avoid the Army Corps of Engineers' $3 fee.

Donnie Cato, a tournament fisherman from Madisonville, said he will buy an
annual pass, but reluctantly.

"Ain't none of us too excited about it," said Cato, who estimates he
spends 80 to 100 days a year on the water. "We're taking a pretty big
hit."

Cato said some major tournaments attract 200 boats, which could total up
to $600 for passes each day.

Louisville fisherman Charlie Waugh said competitors often show up three or
four days before a tournament to "pre-fish" a lake, and they launch their
boats each day.

Soaring fuel prices now mean Waugh spends $225 to fill up his boat and
SUV, he said.

"This is just another expense," he said. "The question is, how do we know
we will get anything out of it?"

George Ward, Kentucky's parks commissioner, defended the fee, saying
Kentucky is simply following the example set by Indiana and the Army
Corps.

The fee took effect Jan. 1.

Kentucky still is one of 10 states without a fee to enter state parks, and
some states charge both park access and boat ramp fees, he said. The Corps
charges $3 a day to use ramps or $30 for an annual sticker at Lake
Cumberland and Buckhorn, Cave Run, Barren River, Taylorsville, Rough River
and Nolin lakes.

Indiana charges $4 to enter a park and $5 daily for a boat ramp or $20 for
an annual pass.

Ohio has no ramp fees. The legislature there postponed a proposed $5 daily
parking fee or a $25 season parking pass at state parks, said Andrea
Misko, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Tennessee charges $3 a carload to enter parks or $30 for an annual pass,
but has no ramp fee.

Ward said boaters with multiple trailers have complained about the fee,
but he likened their situation to people with two or more cars who must
buy licenses for each one. Boaters may save money by buying a season pass
for the boat they use most, and paying the daily fee for boats they use
less, he said.

"We have taken the stand that it's more logical for the fishermen to use
the $3-a-day launch fee if they are only using the second boat three to
four times a year," Ward said.

In March, the Parks Department collected $31,335 in sales of passes and
launch fees. For the first quarter of this year , the state took in
$51,171, selling 1,284 annual passes and 4,217 daily passes.

'Poorly thought-out idea'

Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, called the fee "a revenue grab without
legislative authorization." Yonts said that although the fees were imposed
outside the legislature's approval, he expects them to be reviewed.

Yonts predicted complaints will grow as the weather warms and boaters head
to the lakes.

"This is just a way of getting money. It's a tax," he said. But Rep. Danny
Ford, R-Mount Vernon, said he had not heard of any complaints. Ford's
district includes Lake Linville and the Rockcastle River and is near Lake
Cumberland.

"There are fees done all the time outside the General Assembly," he
said. "If we as a legislature think it's an unfair thing, we will have an
opportunity to change it."

Jeff Rich, secretary of the Buck Creek Bassmasters in Somerset, said he
plans to buy a $30 annual pass for state ramps, but he believes the
roughly 50 club members resent the fee.

"It was just a poorly thought-out idea," he said.

Rich said the state should have asked boaters for suggestions about how to
levy and administer the fee. A small surcharge on fishing licenses might
have been more acceptable, he said.

Kentucky collects about $25 million a year from hunting and fishing
licenses and from boat registrations. Boaters also pay about $700,000 a
year in state road fund taxes on the gasoline they buy from marinas.

But taxes collected on fuel sales are refunded to marinas, not to boaters.

Some surrounding states use the fuel tax revenue for ramp and dock
maintenance.

Jill Midkiff, a spokeswoman for the Finance Cabinet, said there have been
"discussions" about using the tax for wildlife or outdoor activities, but
no action has been taken.

Lobbying worked?

Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake, the two most-fished lakes in the state, do
not charge fees for state ramp use.

Parks spokesman Jim Carroll said no fees were placed on those lakes
because the history of fees there was "less common." He declined to
elaborate.

Jan Crick, director of the Lyon County Tourism Commission, said she had
lobbied against the ramp fees when they were proposed for Lake Barkley but
not on Kentucky Lake. The county includes parts of both.

Crick said the launch fees are unpopular with fishermen. "It's nickeling
and diming people to death."

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