Revised Sympson Lake rules to allow skiing, curtail nighttime fishing
Councilmen Francis Lydian, left, and John Royalty examine a map of Sympson Lake during Tuesday night’s Bardstown City Council meeting. Click to enlarge.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
UPDATED 4:45 p.m. – Tuesday, March 25, 2014 — Water skiing on Simpson Lake will be allowed under a revised ordinance that received the initial approval Tuesday night of the Bardstown City Council.
Concerns about water quality and the impact of recreational boating raised last month led to the council’s discussion of possibly eliminating some existing uses of the lake, including boats traveling faster than 5 mph and water skiing.
The revised ordinance will restrict any use of the lake — including fishing — to an hour before sunset and an hour after sundown, and prohibits jet skis, hydroplanes, racing boats or hulls.
Councilmen Bobby Simpson, left, and Tommy Reed discuss an issue prior to the start of Tuesday’s council meeting. Click to enlarge.
One change for recreational boaters is that skiing will not be allowed within 2,000 feet of the lake’s earthen dam. The existence of this regulation surfaced at an earlier meeting during discussion about the lake. After researching the issue, City Attorney Tom Donan told the council Tuesday night the state regulation applies to Sympson Lake.
Councilman Francis Lydian said he had been on all of Kentucky’s major lakes and had never seen a lake restrict skiing in an area that far from a dam. Donan explained that some of Kentucky’s waterways and lakes are controlled by other entities with different guidelines. Lydian said he was in favor of allowing water skiing to continue on the lake.
Councilman Tommy Reed said recreational boaters would have to live with the new restrictions, and suggested city government talk to state legislators about changing the 2,000-foot skiing rule. He also spoke in favor of allowing water skiing to continue on the lake while suggesting a comprehensive study of the lake’s problems and their causes.
Mayor Bill Sheckles said the City of Bardstown is responsible for the administration of the lake and following all the applicable rules, and the 2,000-foot no-skiing zone would be enforced at Sympson Lake.
Councilman Francis Lydian gestures while discussing recreation boating on Sympson Lake. Click to enlarge.
Councilman Roland Williams said preserving the quality of the city’s water supply is important, and he was in favor of recreational boating as long as it is compatible with maintaining water quality.
Preserving the city’s main water source is the most important consideration, Councilman Joe Buckman said, and if skiing is causing water quality issues he was prepared to vote to take those boats off the lake.
Not all of the council was convinced recreational boating and water skiing were a problem at the lake.
Councilman John Royalty suggested that council members who believe the ski boats are causing water quality issues should vote to remove all boats from the lake.
“You can’t convince me that the skiers are causing the erosion and destroying the lake,” he told the council. “I can never believe that just one group is doing that [to the lake].”
The revised ordinance raises boat permit fees to $50 for Nelson County residents and to $100 for out-of-county boaters. Boating permits are free for those individuals 65 years of age and older.
The second and final reading of the ordinance is set for the Tuesday, April 8, 2014, council meeting.
In other business, the council:
– approved amending the bids for three chemicals for the city water treatment plant due to the chemicals not meeting the bid specifications;
– approved final reading of a rezoning request that will allow Terry’s Wine & Spirits, 610 Bloomfield Road, to conduct tastings;
– approved a five-year tax assessment moratorium for the home undergoing renovation work at 210 East Flaget Ave.;
– approved Mike Yaden’s appointment to the Joint City-County Human Rights Commission after the resignation of Charles Bivens;
– authorized the mayor to sign needed documents to apply for a recycling grant to help purchase a horizontal cardboard baler for the Guthrie Opportunity Center; and
– approved recommendations for certificates of approval and amendments for two previously approved COAs from the Historic Review Board.
NEXT UP. The council will meet next at is monthly working session on Tuesday, April 1.
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