LAKE COUNTY ? The possibility of a nighttime speed limit on Clear Lake spurred debate during a Tuesday Lake County Board of Supervisors meeting, despite a request at the beginning of the discussion to reschedule the item.
The board agreed to direct the Clear Lake Advisory Subcommittee (CLAS) to discuss the concept and consider the committee”s recommendation at a future meeting. CLAS member Brent Siemer said he would put the discussion on the committee”s Friday agenda and contact Lake County Sheriff Rodney Mitchell about sending a representative.
“This is ripe for discussion,” District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington said.
Farrington said at the top of the meeting that he didn”t want to identify a specific speed limit yet, but discuss the logistics of implementing any speed limit at night on the lake.
Echoing the concerns of Kelseyville resident Phil Murphy, who requested the board consider a speed limit, Farrington said he had lost friends to nighttime boating accidents on Clear Lake.
Lake County Sheriff Rodney Mitchell thanked Murphy for asking the board to reschedule the discussion. Mitchell told the board he wanted boat patrol Sgt. Dennis Ostini to be involved in the discussion, but Ostini was not available Tuesday.
“I think this is an important discussion to have,” Mitchell said. “Whether the board decides to do something to implement a speed limit at night nor not, it should be discussed and some information needs to be vetted through that process.”
District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith said he had been a member of CLAS, which he said would be the appropriate entity to do the legwork on issues concerning Clear Lake.
“During this process you have to compare apples to apples,” Smith said, referring to speed limits on other state watercourses.
Kelseyville resident Bert Atwood said a “safe and sane” approach was needed, calling Murphy”s suggested 15-mph speed limit absurd.
“I want some rationale put into the thing, not just a flat-limit,” Atwood said.
Clearlake Bassmasters Vice President John Graham said based on what little information was available, the group was opposed to the concept of a nighttime speed limit on the lake.
“We don”t see that there”s an issue. We all boat in the dark almost as a routine thing, and we don”t feel like we”re a threat to others,” Graham said.
A speed limit would affect night fishermen and duck hunters, who need to put out decoys during the dark hours before dawn.
“Same thing with catfish ? catfish are most active at night, and most angling for catfish happens at night,” Graham said.
“The intent in my mind, to put an ordinance in place is to prevent people not from going out to bass tournaments early in the morning or fishing late in the evening, it is to keep people from going 40, 50, 60, 70 miles an hour at 11, 12, 1 o”clock at night,” Murphy said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
