New Boat Tax for Evergreen Lake

As a taxpayer in the Evergreen Park and Recreation District, we expect that our tax dollars are paying for our community to access Evergreen Lake. It has been this way for decades. The District levies a tax of 4.328 mills upon each dollar of valuation for assessment of all taxable property within the District for this purpose.

Access to the lake has been the only benefit many of us ever actually use for the millions of tax dollars that this Special district collects from us each year.

For the first time ever at Evergreen Lake, The Evergreen Park and Recreation District is now charging a “tax” for private boats.

In the never ending effort to extract every possible dollar from us under the guise of a “fee” from the community, this is the latest step. The District board has initiated a list of new taxes and fees associated with the Lake including charging for parking during community events (new for 2009 and 2010) and this new private boat tax.

I got out my Kayak for the first time this summer yesterday to paddle around the lake for an hour and didn’t even notice the new sign that had been installed over an old sign.

The old sign said “boat ramp, loading and unloading only, private boating hours sunrise to sunset, gas powered engines prohibited”

The new sign now says “all private boaters must have a park pass or purchase a day pass prior to launching, PLEASE CHECK IN AT THE BOAT RENTAL AREA”


What!?

Now they must have thought long and hard for an excuse to charge this new “fee” for private boats – so when I got home I checked out their web site and found the following…

“With higher safety measures at the lake and the possible threat of Zebra Mussels, private boaters will be charged a daily fee of $4 or have the option of purchasing a season Park Pass for $30. The Park Pass as well as the daily fee will help keep Evergreen Lake free of foreign species as well as ensuring boaters are taking all proper safety measures before launching. Please check in with boat rental staff prior to launching your boat. All boats must stay within the boundaries set by the lake staff and abide by all lake rules. Gas powered engines are not allowed on the lake, only electric trolling motors are permitted. Life jackets are required. (Life jackets may be rented at boat rental for $5 per use). Private boaters may load and unload on the lake frontage road, but parking on the frontage road is strictly prohibited…..”

All those years – I got along just fine without my park and rec. district representative checking me out in order to determine if I am taking all “proper safety measures before launching”. I guess that now it’s their responsibility – since they have taken this effort upon themselves to charge extra to “ensure” us.

As for the Zebra mussel excuse – Evergreen Lake does not even qualify as a possible habitat for this animal. Along with other low risk factors, the water in the lake is simply too cold for this species to survive and spawn. So our local government is now starting to collect this additional money to test for a species that does not exist here, and would not survive much less multiply in this lake.

The only invasive species anyone has been able to detect in Evergreen Lake is the Evergreen Park and Recreation district itself!

Talk about wasted money, I don’t mind if they do the test since it only costs a few hundred dollars – but don’t try to use this as another excuse to take away access to our lake, and charge a fee to everyone.

“Zebra mussels prefer average water temperatures are below 81 degrees F and above 54 degrees F. Females do not spawn until the water temperature reaches 54 degrees F.”

(Source http://www.ehow.com/about_6392874_zebra-mussels-habitat.html#ixzz0spxbQP3B )

I could not find any data which provides the average water temperature in Evergreen Lake but the yearly average air temperature in Evergreen is only 43.95 degrees F!! The water must be even colder.
(Source http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?coever )

If you are currently paying taxes in the Evergreen Park and Recreation District and feel as I do - that the district taxpayers have already paid for access to Evergreen Lake – and that it’s wrong to charge us again for what we already pay for – please join me and voice your opposition to the district board.

If you live in Conifer or Bailey – or any other area outside the district – I hope you will also object to being charged to access Evergreen Lake with your Kayak or canoe – because the residents in Evergreen have paid with their tax dollars for your access to it as well.

This is the Contact info for the Board members of Evergreen Parks and recreation district;

Voice Mail: 720.880.1019

Kit Darrow
President

Janet Heck Doyle
First Vice President

Pat Callahan
Second Vice President

Peter Eggers
Treasurer

Mark Footer
Secretary


Our local government is removing each of our resources one by one – and charging separate fees for that which in the past was assumed to be paid for. Our mountain community feels more and more like a big city with every lost benefit.

Grand Lake is quite cold....yet mussels have appeared there. I'm supportive of all efforts to keep this scourge from spreading, even if it is an inconvenience, or yes, even a small "tax/fee".

Until we know more about the mussels, we need to take any and all precautions. If they do happen to make it into Evergreen lake, or any others, the fisheries will disappear.

Testing for this does not justify a $4 a day fee to every canoe who wants to paddle around this lake. While the mussle was found in Grand Lake a few years ago - it hasd not been detected since- and it is unlikely that it can survive there.

The three factors that contribute to a very low probability risk are calcium levels - they need to be high for the mussel to muliply, they don't like altitude, and they don't like cold water. The Water in Evergreen lake has almost no calcium, high altitude and cold water tempratures. The probability of this species becoming a problem here is almost zero. Another point to remember is that this species is usually transferred in bilge water - or gets transferred by the larger boats - those boats are not even allowed in Evergreen Lake - the probability of a mussel being transferred by a canoe is unlikely, and that's being kind.

Evergreen has no plans to inspect any boats - or provide any measures other than testing for a species that has only even been detected in two bodies of water in Colorado. Both Pueblo and grand are large bodies of water and only pueblo has enough suitable habitat for this species to survive. Evergreen lake is just a puddle compared to these other two lakes. If this mussel is even detected here - then I would support more money to get rid of it - but it has never even been detected anywhere near here - it's a problem that does not exist here.

This is an overaction at least and an excuse at best and an annoyance to every one of us who use the lake. My guess is that they just threw in that excuse to justify yet another tax that will never go away. I hope you don't buy into their excuse because looking at the facts - it's a lame one.

I already have stated that I am not opposed to the testing for it each year - I'm opposed to the new fee and the excuses they use to justify it. The testing for this species can be done inexpensively- and without a additional burden to those of us who use the lake.

Anyone who lives in Evergreen and has a watercraft can certainly afford $30 a year. I would think the fee would also keep the riff raff off the lake.

Might keep a few liberal hippies out - but it would still cost the taxpayer who has already paid for this resource.

Another reason that Conifer should not vote for a rec district. They collect the taxes from people whether they use it or not, then still charge fees as if they do not have a tax base.

Now me and the kids (riff raff) not only will be financially locked out from the lake, but have less of an opportunity to patronize Evergreen businesses. I suppose the same logic for the would be lake users can be applied to the businesses - because they are in Evergreen - they can afford it.

This is also a good reason to charge bike riding fees for Deer Creek Cannon and beyond - let's keep that riff raff on the flat land.

$4 to put your watercraft in the lake for the day is going to lock you out of the lake? You'd spend that buying bottled water in Evergreen.

Daisypusher brings up a good point here - with the Evergreen area businesses fighting to stay in business in this environment, is it a good idea to tack fees onto every activity that Evergreen has to offer?

I know that 4 bucks isn't alot of money to someone like wayne - and he thinks that everyone who lives in Evergreen is a millionaire, it means somthing to many folks. So many of us just don't have extra money to throw around, and we're cutting back. Here was an activity that would only cost them gas money - but now has an additional tax involved.

For me it's about spending money for just a few minutes of paddling after work on a summer day. It's also about a resource that was available in the past - but has been snatched up and fell victim to the latest fee or tax. It's also about the fact that I already paid for this resource.

Today it's the fee for a private boat - tomorrow it's a fee to walk down a trail or go fishing or even to park your car at the lake - I see parking meters in the future..

This District has collected thousands of dollars of my tax money - with the implied reasoning that they would provide a resource like access to the Lake. Every business owner in town also pays this tax - and the benefit of attracting visitors to the town who could become customers. They will be less inclined come to up here to begin with - and maybe choose somewhere else to go since the benefits are being removed and taxed.

I think you're overestimating the impact of the fee to launch a boat. How many boats were on the lake every day BEFORE there was a fee? (not counting the rented boats from the boat house) I haven't been over there lately but I'm guessing less than 15? Probably less than 10? Compare that to the hundreds of people who come and shop in Evergreen and don't bring their boat.

If someone is going to balk at paying $4 for the day they're probably not going to spend much money in Evergreen. Someone like that probably brought their own lunch and drinks. If you're pinching pennies and $4 is a lot of money to you then Evergreen probably doesn't want you as a customer anyway.

Most everything you do within the Parks and Rec system has a cost associated with it....classes, swim lesson, weight rooms, why not boating?

$4/day seems like a reasonable fee to put a private boat in the lake, considering the cost to rent a boat is $8/ half hour. Sail boats and fishing boats are considerably more. It's not as if there is no expense for Parks and Rec....they have employees they pay to monitor boat activity, and there are possible costs associated with private boats being in the lake should they have a problem. $30/year is also very reasonable.....if you plan to go often it seems like you would definitly get your money's worth. Like everyone else the revenues are down for Parks and Rec, yet we want the same services. Good for them charging the people who use the amenities instead of raising taxes.