New Boat Tax for Evergreen Lake

Private boats do not cost the district a single penny unless you drum up stipid reasons to invent costs that never existed in the past - like safety and invasive species that need more dollars for their justification. The district collects money from us forming a special district for the purpose of providing a service to the community. For decades this service was a promise to provide the entire community with access to a resource for the benefit of the entire community.

Archer - you are right. In recent years the district has expanded it's scope and added community centers with racket ball courts, tennis courts, swimming pools etc. They charge the users for these indoor activities and for the use of the facilities maintenance with fees.

But there is a long standing policy about the outdoor trails, picnic tables, boats on the lake and even concerts that business owners in the area sponsor with their own donations - and that policy has been to allow the entire community access to these taxpayer funded facilities without charge to the user.

This policy has been in place for decades and was well understood by the community. This years policy is a sharp deviation from that long standing tradition. It is creating the atmosphere of a circus - or amusement park where every thrill or ride comes at a cost.

Perhaps the community should have raised hell when they started charging for the indoor services - but they did not and now the district must feel that charging extra money for everything else would just be an extension of what they do indoors.

It does not make it right - or just. It's hijacking a resource and changing the game on all of us who paid into the system with an understanding of what we were getting for our money.

Why fund this district with ANY property tax dollars - if the deal has been broken? Maybe we need a campain to de-fund the entire district and convert it to a pay as you go system. I would not have supported the creation of the district in the first place if what they originally built the system on was a lie and the public money they used to build the system came with an understanding that every activity would come with a fee.

Lets just charge every user for the use of the facility and return all future tax collections back to the hands of the taxpayer - so they can pay for only those services they use. For that matter why have a public funded system at all - just make it all private and then we all would only pay for what we use.

But I'm paying for a district that I dont use - with the exception of the Lake resource. My money went to build those swimming pools and tennis courts, but I don't use them because of the fees involved.

Yet they continue to collect my tax money. Private boats do not cost the district any money - unless you count the money they have not been collecting in all the years past.

Would it be fair for me to withdraw my tax support since they are changing the rules of the game to their advantage? Why not?

They collect plenty of money from us to continue the long standing and well understood policy of open access to the lake resource, without raising any taxes and without charging any additional fees. If they can't do that then they have broken their promise and failed in their mission.

actually, the fee for putting boats into the lake was $5 for many many years, we weren't even aware that at some point this fee disappeared. My husband is a long time resident of Evergreen and he always had to pay to put a canoe into the lake......it's been many years since he has done that but he was very surprised that it had become free at some point.

If this is all so onerous to you you could move out of the Rec district.......things have changed and evolved over the 19 years I have lived there.......fees have gone up, facilities added and subtracted......change is inevitable. It is still a bargain.

Another illegal immigrant invasion causing taxpayers additional fees.

Why don't we offer the Mussels amnesty? The State Wildlife site doesn't say why they are threats.

http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpe ... ussels.htm

I am trying to determine if this is an Elevated Code or High Code Risk?

residenttroll wrote: Another illegal immigrant invasion causing taxpayers additional fees.

Might as well blame this on the illegals....we blame everything else on them. How's that hang nail healing that you cought from an illegal?

archer wrote:

residenttroll wrote: Another illegal immigrant invasion causing taxpayers additional fees.

Might as well blame this on the illegals....we blame everything else on them. How's that hang nail healing that you cought from an illegal?

The mussels are illegals.

Heck again, Americans are being stopped while recreating to be inspected to see if these unwanted illegals are travelling on their craft.

Hang nail. You mean tax bill?

actually, the fee for putting boats into the lake was $5 for many many years, we weren't even aware that at some point this fee disappeared. My husband is a long time resident of Evergreen and he always had to pay to put a canoe into the lake......it's been many years since he has done that but he was very surprised that it had become free at some point.

This is not true - I grew up in Evergreen and know for at least the last 32 years - there has never been a fee for a canoe on Evergreen Lake. I have photo's of the lake that date back into the 30's showing canoes on the lake. Before the Evergreen Rec district was formed - Denver Parks managed the lake.

This was long before local governments even dreamed up the idea to nikel and dime us to death

ok....you're right he's wrong....whatever.

residenttroll wrote: The mussels are illegals.

Heck again, Americans are being stopped while recreating to be inspected to see if these unwanted illegals are travelling on their craft.

Hang nail. You mean tax bill?

so now you are arguing against stopping the illegals (mussels) from entering our country....uh....lake, because to do so infringes on citizen rights? Wow

Ya know BearMtnHIB, you can always start a citizen protest. We got rid of the horrible bridge in downtown Evergreen by organizing against it......or would you rather just bitch on a message board?

archer wrote:

residenttroll wrote: The mussels are illegals.

Heck again, Americans are being stopped while recreating to be inspected to see if these unwanted illegals are travelling on their craft.

Hang nail. You mean tax bill?

so now you are arguing against stopping the illegals (mussels) from entering our country....uh....lake, because to do so infringes on citizen rights? Wow

Nope, Americans don't have rights anymore...any person who enters America has rights. Big difference.