If you want to launch your boat at the city-owned ramp in McCall, you may soon have to pay up for the first time.
As BoiseDev reported in April, the City of McCall pitched a plan to charge to use the ramp adjacent to the Mile High Marina. Now, a piece of red tape is out of the way, making the move one step closer to reality.
The Idaho Parks and Recreation Board approved McCall’s plan during a meeting earlier this week. The state agency’s approval was needed because the city previously used grant funding to improve the ramp.
“Like many resort communities in our region, the McCall area has seen significant growth and increased recreational use and user types over the past 2-5 years,” Kurt Wolf with the City of McCall wrote to the board. “The McCall municipal boat ramp is constrained by challenging existing conditions that make it unfeasible to expand the ramp or increase parking. As a result, the area becomes extremely congested during peak use times, requiring significant increases in staff time to mitigate and manage these issues. The increase in use and larger recreational equipment using the ramp have significantly increased wear and tear on the facility and maintenance costs associated with the facility. Additionally, the community has expressed concern regarding the recreational impacts to the water quality of Payette Lake…”
The in-town ramp is one of only two publicly accessible ramps on the lake; the other is in Ponderosa Park at North Shore.
The fee structure would need sign off from McCall’s city council. Proposed fees are $15 for a day pass, $100 for a season pass, or $1,000 for a commercial-use season pass. Next year, the city could eliminate a current summer overnight parking fee in the parking lot by the marina.
If approved by the council, it would go into effect on July 15th, after an education period over the Independence Day holiday.
The funds would be used for future capital projects, including a concrete replacement in the next five years. The city also plans to add a full-time and a summer employee to help administer the program and monitor compliance. They’d also put a camera on-site to help monitor.
Boise State Radio reported the parks board signed off on the request. The McCall City Council is expected to take it up later this month.
