Just read Terry Knight”s Dec. 30 column regarding quagga mussel stickers. I still do not understand what the rules are. In his first paragraph it states, “All boaters who plan on launching a boat into any water in Lake County will be required to have their boats screened for quagga mussels and obtain a 2011 sticker.” The second paragraph states, “Residents who have their boats registered in Lake County will be required to purchase an annual sticker for $10.” In the third paragraph Carolyn Ruttan of the Lake County Water Resources Department states, “Lake County residents won”t be required to have their boats inspected in order to obtain the resident sticker.”
I am confused, do I have to get my boat re-inspected or not? I hope not.
In my case it is very unsafe to haul our boat into town for inspection, over sub-standard width county and city roads. It is difficult to drive a mid-size car or truck on northern Lakeshore Drive, let alone tow a legal 102″ wide boat trailer.
Once again, I feel a yearly fee is asking too much, we already have to pay county personal property tax on our boat and jet ski. In addition, we also pay Lake Bed Management a rental tax so we can have a place to dock our boat and ski, not to mention property tax on our lake access lot. A lifetime fee of $25 or a little more would seem more agreeable.
I support a program to keep these invasive mussels out of our lake and I realize fees will need to be collected to fund this program. I do not support yearly fees for Lake County residents who do not take their boats or other water vehicles out of the county.
Ray Richards
Clearlake Park
