Greenbelt recreational fees increasing

Boaters and sportsmen will soon be paying a little more to enjoy beautiful Lake Greenbelt as fee increases go into effect.

Greenbelt General Manager Bobbie Kidd said the water authority board approved the higher fees at its February meeting.

“This is only the third increase in 35 years and the first increase in about 20 years,” Kidd said.

Annual permits will cost $30 and daily permits will cost $3. That’s up from $20 and $2.

The biggest change will come in the form of a new $100 annual permit for personal watercraft such as WaveRunners. No daily permits will be available for personal watercraft, and the annual permit will require applicants to sign a waiver and agree to certain rules and restrictions to lessen the water authority’s exposure to lawsuits.

“We thought we would be overrun with personal watercraft since we understand they are going to be prohibited at Lake Meredith,” Kidd said. “I think the new rules will also cut down on the horseplay. If it doesn’t, we can change the rules any time.”

Kidd said the new prices will go into effect as soon as the current supply of permits is exhausted. As of Tuesday morning, only 20 old permits were left, and those will probably be gone by the time most readers get this issue.

Revenue from lake permits go to pay for salaries and wages of several lake personnel, lake vehicles, maintenance, insurance, and expenses associated with vandalism.

“The recreation at the lake has to pay for itself,” Kidd said. “We even have two separate budgets [at the water authority] – one for recreation and one for the sale of water.”

Kidd said he hadn’t heard the specifics of increases for state fishing and boating licenses, but he understood the need.

“We have to have Game Wardens, and the people doing the hunting and fishing ought to be the ones to pay for it,” he said.

The water level did rise at Greenbelt over the winter but has started dropping, Kidd said. It is currently at a depth of about 60 feet.