Boat launch fees likely for commercial users this summer

Commercial boat rental companies in Kelowna will soon face fees to use city-owned boat launches.

It comes as more than $1.1 million in repairs are needed to the docks.

A city report presented to lawmakers showed commercial operators make up a quarter of all launches. They also are responsible for a growing number of complaints.

There are about 15 commercial users: two valet services, 10 dryland boat rental and three dryland boat clubs.

In her report, property management manager JoAnne Adamson pitched exploring some form of a permitting or fee system, not dissimilar to how food trucks that use city parks are treated.

Lawmakers voted unanimously to give staff the go ahead to come back to council in a month or two with a cost-recovery solution. It is expected any program will be ready to go this summer.

Adamson said bylaw officers would enforce any permitting system. Should commercial operators not comply, she said launch access could be revoked.

“The benefit to an agreement such as this is the boat operator needs to agree to the rules of conduct at the boat launch and so if they choose not too … they will then have their license revoked,” she said. “They will lose their ability to conduct business at the boat launch.”

The two main docks in the city at Cook Road and Water Street have up to 35,000 uses a year. Launching in and out are counted separately.

A recent study found the Cook Road dock is at the end of its lifecycle, while the Water Street docks are well past their prime. Both need the wooden docks rebuilt. Improvements to the concrete ramps are recommended, too.

Over the past five years, dock maintenance has cost over $850,000, which includes dredging of the Cook Road launch.

“I think this is a good first step,” Coun. Brad Sieben said. “But it might be something where more active management is required in the future.”

He said there is limited access and having someone coordinate traffic at the site could benefit everyone.

Coun. Ryan Donn worried that, once paying, there may be a sense of entitlement among business owners, which he worried could lead to more disagreements.

“Hopefully it doesn’t flow that way because it would be nice to not have to charge the public and keep it commercial,” he said.

Others around the table agreed coming up with a cost-recovery model was a good idea and will allow for better management of the site.

No date was given for when the docks could be rebuilt. Details for this would be assembled in a long-term capital plan based on findings from an assessment currently underway.