According to Terry Knight”s article in the July 30 Record-Bee there have been more than 18,000 boat inspections stickers that have issued at $10.00. What I want to know is how is this “windfall tax” going to be spent and on what?
The figure implies that there is $180,000 being collected for a phantom problem that has not materialized on Clear Lake. I think that the pro-active stance toward this threat is admirable, however, the county now has a big chunk of money and what is it going to do with it?
The county also has created a cash flow situation that will go on indefinitely into the future as this threat will not simply go away. I think that we need to consider what to do with this cash income to benefit the health of our lake.
I would like to see that this new found money be earmarked to the overall health of the lake”s ecosystem. Maybe some of it could be saved to buy up some of the littoral shoreline along the south end of the Lakeport body and some dedicated to saving the tule beds in other areas where private ownership is chopping them up for boat access.
Along North Lakeshore drive in Lakeport almost all of the tule beds that were there 20 years ago are gone, falling to the quiet small scale elimination by private owners that develop each lot one at a time and eliminate small pocket of tules. There need to be an expanded dialogue about the health of Clear Lake and the wildlife supporting zones that radiate out from the shore line in light of the constant growth pressure that we are experiencing.
I would like to know what the county intends to do with the money that is flowing in from the “Quagga crisis” and how can we direct this income toward improving the health of our main asset the ecological integrity of Clear Lake.
Tommy Gilliam
Lakeport
