I don't want another tax either. My first choice is no sticker program with free, fair and equitable access to every public access lake in the state. Unfortunately, I don't believe that is going to happen. From the testimony we heard on Saturday and from what gets published it is clear the pony here is not only funding the CLA but to exclude outside users of the lake either through economic barriers, limited stickers or whatever other plan they can come up with. So I believe it will continue to raise its ugly head like gun control efforts, the saltwater license and other pervasive challenges we face. My proposal tries to make the best out of a bad situation and mitigate multiple stickers on multiple public access lakes and economic barriers but the DEP is not going to want to take over a state-wide sticker program either and probably will not support my proposal. But I am assuming this sticker effort continues though I wish I was wrong.
The registration fee does not serve the agendas of the sticker program. It does not fund lake authorities or the DEP, it goes into the motor vehicle department and funds their activities.
So I hope that the entire sticker idea fails and is forgotten. I have no problem paying local taxes and having some of that money go from my town to fund the CLA. I don't think this is a big burden to our town or any of the other towns around the lake. Around the state other local organizations and towns fund lake authorities and lake projects that benefit me when I use "their" lake. This is how America functions, we share and help each other. Like someone else said above, we don't pay to use town roads when we travel around so why a local lake.
I guess we will know more by the end of the month.

Good work Bassman. I think this bill is rediculous. I live on the lake so I get the concerns from all angles because I am friends with bass fisherman and homeowners. I do wish the people that don't live on the lake would stop assuming that we think the traffic is high because of the ramp traffic. Very untrue! We are all concerned about the well being of the lake and the increase in building and more and more moorings being granted on the lake.

This bill is meaningless. Accidents are down and patrols are always out there in full force. There has to be something done for the well being of the lake period! I was actually swaying on the side of the bill because my knee jerk reaction was that it would decrease the traffic but for $50, which is less than 1 round of golf or 1/2 tank of gas I think people will still pay it. If this bill is to strictly have more patrols then it is a waste. Focus more on protecting a great lake!

The launches and parking lots are a joke as far as condition and they are allowing more and more new constructions to go up every year. Yes I am self fish in wanting less traffic on the lake and to stop building but the lake has more developed land per acre than any other lake in the state. It has to stop or the lake will truely die!

I don't understand why the CLA even has the power to bring this bill up for discussion.I wish someone woukld clarify this foe me,Who are the CLA are they just a fancy neighborhod watch group who is starving for some power ??? Do they have any power at all??If they do why??A friend of mine was at squantz getting ready to launch his boat and overheard one of the CLA "officers"???? say well its time to go harrass some bass fisherman as they left the launch.These are people with money who want some authority plain and simple.Who runs the DEP that is allowing these people to infringe on our rights anyway?F 'm all.This is a government for the rich .

Chris
I think I understand this better now. You are involved with your lake association. They know you. One of the things that cause conflicts to escalate is when the parties do not see each other to talk face to face. The home owners know you and must perceive you to be a nice person. This makes all the difference in the world even if you were to have differing opinions.

3 Representatives from Club A got up and had prepared speeches. They were quite adamant that the ramps were causing the problems and that local homeowners do use the lake on the holiday weekends.

They insisted that NY federations come here because their season is shut down until sometime in June. They repeated this even though when I spoke I stated that NY had changed it’s laws and that was no longer the case.

They used the scare tactics that zebra muscles and invasive plants were going to invade the lake even after I pointed out that part of the water comes from The Housatonic River and there are Zebra muscles upstream. When I tried to point this out that because of the high Calcium levels in the water they will be here it is a question of when not if. Larry Marsicano stated that the lake did not have a lot of calcium except in the New Milford arm which is where they will come in.

I spoke to one of the Club A guys after the meeting last night face to face and contradicted some of his accusations firmly and with out shouting. He is accusing Bass Fisherman of cutting his sail boat free, Throwing his Aluminum chairs into the water off his dock, Throwing beer bottles in the water next to his beach, getting lures snagged on his boat dock. Going to fast he insisted that he could tell that some boats were exceeding the speed limit. On and on. The one point I strongly disagreed with him on is that in 20 years of tournament fishing I have never seen or heard of a Tournament angler drinking a beer in his boat. He also basically stated that it was ok for the Patrol officers to harass tournament fisherman because we were breaking laws and damaging his property. HE was also very upset over some of the meetings that were held in the past and felt that the Fishermen that attended were rude and disrespectful. Hopefully we each went away with a slightly changed point of view.

Mary Ann Carson did ask for a show of hands for support of the bill and there were only four in opposition.

This meeting was taped and should be broadcast on charter Local Cable access in the next couple of weeks

Club A is an organization of lake front and lake side communities that have banded together under Club A to be a lobbying organization. They testified this past Saturday too and their message is one of exclusion as Big Lee stated. They basically want the lake to themselves.
Cajun, the Bill was introduced not by the CLA but by the state reps in the area who have the power to create and introduce Bills to the state house.
As an observation, Club A and the other elitist/exclusionary testifiers do no service to our Candlewood Lake problems. The rest of the state reps and the DEP will revolt against this thinking and not pass the Bill. This is no different than what we have seen at Lake Waramaug and Bantam Lake the past three years. We can not have local power over these issues unfortunately or there will be strategies of exclusion. Only the state will make decisions in the best interest of the population not local interests, excepting of course, corrupt politicians like disgraced exGov. Rowland.