Concern has risen about option for motorized boat launches for Sylvan Lake.
Recently Lakers have noticed the cost of launching a boat from the privately owned Sylvan Lake Marina Boat Launch has drastically risen.
Residents are concerned about the $100 associated with the fee, and turned to the Town for answers.
Unfortunately, as a private business, the Town has no authority to dictate the prices a business charges.
“While I understand the concerns that have come to me, the municipality does not have the authority to dictate the prices that private businesses charge,” Sylvan Lake Mayor Sean McIntyre said in a statement on Facebook.
Town Council and staff have been looking into the issue of boat launches for Sylvan Lake for the past few years.
McIntyre’s statement says there is a lot to consider for this issue, and there isn’t a simple solution.
“We need to consider environmental, financial and logistical implication, and Town Administration is continuously working to identify sustainable opportunities, and collaborate with all parties involved,” McIntyre said.
Joanne Gaudet, communications officer with the Town, said they have been trying to identify a potential access point, but it hasn’t gone much further than that.
She says at the moment there are no hard plans for a boat launch in Sylvan Lake right now.
“This isn’t just an issue for us, it is something the municipalities around the lake are looking at together,” Gaudet said.
In Sylvan Lake’s ReIMAGINE Sylvan, the Town looked at included a boat launch in its reimagined shoreline, however that launch point is for non-motorized boats, such as canoes, kayaks and paddle boards.
The County of Lacombe purchased 16 acres of land on the west side of the lake in November 2015, with the intention of creating a boat launch.
According to Nicole Plewis, communications coordinator with the County, plans for the boat launch have not moved forward.
“We do not have a time line for the boat launch right now… It is a project we plan to work on, but I can’t say when,” Plewis said.
When Lacombe County moves forward with plans to turn the 16 acres of land into a boat launch, Plewis says it will be done with the cooperation of the surrounding municipalities, including the Town of Sylvan Lake.
“Accessibility for all of us is something we need to consider and talk about,” said Gaudet.