A decision on proposed regulations on boat use on Payette Lake will not happen until at least July. Valley County Board of Commissioners Chair Jerry Winkle said.
Commissioners took additional testimony at a second public hearing last Thursday on an ordinance proposed by the Payette Lake Protective League.
About 40 people testified at the public hearing held at the McCall-Donnelly High School Cafeteria.
The public has until today to submit their written comments to the county.
Commissioners made no decisions last Thursday, and it is unlikely they will deliberate on the topic soon, Winkle said.
The commissioners will be hearing appeals on property tax assessments for at least two weeks, he said.
Of those who testified last Thursday, 28 said they were in favor of the original provisions of the ordinance, which would place limits on many recreational activities in the lake for safety reasons. Twelve testified against the ordinance and one person was neutral in her testimony.
"Payette Lake is a limited recreational resource," Susan Bechdel of McCall said. "We need this ordinance so that all types of users can use the lake."
"A no wake safe water zone of 400 feet is not excessive it is practical and is necessary to give non-motorized boaters and swimmers the confidence that they aren't at risk when they are close to shore," Bechdel said.
"We view this document as fatally flawed because the process of which it is derived," said Don Parker, President of the McCall Area Chamber of Commerce said. "What are the economic impacts of imposing regulations on recreation in one lake in the county and not in others are we not just telling motor boaters to go elsewhere?"
Parker asked that a broadly represented committee be formed to look at any possible ordinance rather than allowing one organization to draft the ordinance.
"A different process might very well yield the decision that there are some areas for water skiing, there are some areas that should be non-motorized, and some areas should be for swimming," he said. "Then we could do a decent job pursuing the benefits and the desires of each of those groups as opposed to a blanket restriction covering the entire lake."
Ponderosa State Park manager Dennis Coyle told the commission that the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation formally requests that the county adopt a non-motorized section from the mouth of the North Fork of the Payette River near North Beach throughout the river.
"I oppose this ordinance as written," Ray Dupree of McCall said. He was opposed the no wake safe water zone even a suggested reduction from 400 feet to 200 feet. Dupree said a no-wake zone would close off the East Arm of the lake.
"I feel strongly that the rules that were proposed are reasonable," Don Eberle of McCall said.
The commissioners proposed some changes to the original ordinance, which was heard at an initial hearing in May at the McCall Golf Course clubhouse.
The commission and the protective league discussed changing several provisions in the ordinance. The commission members stressed at the public hearing that they had made no decisions about the ordinance.
Among those provisions were:
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Changing the proposed No Wake Safe Water Zone from 400 feet.
Commissioners are considering reducing the original 400-foot zone in the draft to as little as 200 feet, but the protective league wants to keep the proposal at 400 fee.
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Original proposal calls for a daytime speed limits of 40 mile per hour. The protective league is willing to increase that to 45 mph, but the county is leaning toward 50 mph.
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The county and protective league have agreed on rules for water skiers.
The agreement would allow water skiers to start from within a no-wake zone as long as they ski straight out. However, water skiers must stay outside of the zone when finishing skiing.
The only exception would allow skiers to coast toward shore without being pulled.
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Commissioners are considering revising the ban on motorized craft from the North Fork of the Payette River to just personal watercraft from the river, something the proponents opposed.
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The current draft would ban polluting two-stroke engines by 2010. The county wants to eliminate that ban, while the protective league wants some sort of date certain.
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The county also proposes to eliminate the section of the draft banning large boats, saying a size limit was not fair.
The protective league said some restrictions on boat size is needed for safety and to reduce congestion.
