After the first year of 100-percent inspection of boats at Lakeside Park, the village has collected more data than ever before about who used the launch, where they had taken their boats previously and how often the launch was used.
Village trustee Amy Mann presented the launch data at a village board meeting Nov. 2.
This summer, 376 free local permits were issued, and 190 non-resident permits were sold. Over the course of the summer, 1,402 inspections were performed, with 507 inspections performed on local permits and 892 performed on non-residents. The average number of launches per local user was 2.25, while the average number of launches per non-resident permit was 5.6.
The peak days of the week were Fridays and Saturdays, with the peak time of day for launches was from 6:30 to 7 a.m. and 7 to 8 a.m.
In the majority of launches, the last launch was also on Cazenovia Lake. However, almost ten percent of the launches consisted of boats coming from another body of water. 56 other bodies of water were reported, Mann said, primarily from New York and Pennsylvania, but with some from Florida, Maine and Canada.
Mann said that the village hopes to use this information to look at these previous bodies of water and research if there are invasive species in those bodies that might be of concern to Cazenovia Lake.
According to Mann, the village sold fewer permits this year, a change she attributed to the higher permit cost. 168 permits were sold at the new $75 rate, and 22 half season passes were issued for $40. The increased cost of 100-percent inspection was met by these increased permit fees and an intermunicipal contribution from the town of Cazenovia.
“As we look to next summer, our overall feeling is that we made huge progress this year, are on the right path and that we foresee providing as much continuity as possible,” Mann said. “We do not anticipate any major changes in pricing or hours.”
Mann said she would like to see more cooperation from other, private lake access points.
“I would love to see continued growth in our cooperation with non-village launches to provide a unified effort,” Mann said. “I would like to see our inspection process begin to be voluntarily embraced by private launches on the lake like Owera Point and the Yacht Club. I know our checklist was shared with representatives from both but boats still went in and out uninspected.”
