Launching boats on the City of McCall’s Payette Lake boat ramp will cost twice as much this summer for anyone who doesn’t live in Idaho.
Last week, the McCall City Council approved changes to the city’s boat ramp fees, which were charged for the first time last summer.
Idaho residents will continue paying $15 for a day pass or $100 for a season pass, while out-of-state residents will now pay $30 for a day pass and $200 for a season pass.
The city’s boat ramp, located at the north end of Legacy Park near Mile High Marina, is one of two public boat ramps on Payette Lake. The other public boat ramp is in Ponderosa State Park.
Each year, the fees will take effect on the Friday before Memorial Day and remain in place through Sept. 30.
How do I pay the fee?
The fees can be paid through a fee box or a QR code available at the boat ramp. Boaters can also pay online before launching or through a hotline phone number.
Meanwhile, commercial operators will pay a flat rate of $1,500 to use the ramp for the summer.
Last year, businesses paid $1,000 to use the ramp for the season, plus $7.50 per trailer launch between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. That fee schedule proved “cumbersome” and “tough to track,” McCall Parks and Recreation Director Kurt Wolf said.
What will the fees be used for?
The fees will be used to fund maintenance of the boat ramp, water quality monitoring efforts, and administration of the fees.
Wolf hopes to hire seasonal workers to staff the boat ramp as ambassadors.
“We’re shooting to hire a few ambassadors that will have a presence down there,” he said. “The goal of that for us is more to keep things moving.”
Last summer was the first in which the city charged fees for use of its boat ramp. The fees raised about $16,000 after taking effect on July 12.
