Non-motorized boat users off the hook for larger fees

  • By IAN FOLEY
  • Thursday, March 26, 2015 6:23pm
  • News

Users of the Kenai River may catch a break when it comes to paying fees.

At Wednesday’s Soldotna city council meeting, a resolution was adopted that reduces the launch fees for non-motorized boats.

Before Wednesday’s resolution made it through the consent agenda, the fees for launching a boat were the same regardless of whether it was motorized or non-motorized. One-time use was $15 and a season pass was $400.

Now, a non-motorized boat launch will be $7.50 for one time use, or $200 for a season pass. The fee schedule for motorized boats will remain the same.

Council Member Pete Sprague, who introduced the resolution, said he put forward the amended fee schedule after hearing feedback from members of the public.

He said that many non-motorized boat users get in at one launch site, but often get out at another, which would mean that they are on the hook for additional fees.

“Drift boats and non-motorized boats put into the river at one point and pull out somewhere else,” Sprague said. “So, if they (launch their boat) in Soldotna in one of our two boat launches and pull out further down river, they’ve already paid full price. And then (users have to pay) whatever they have to pay at the other end, so I think it helps alleviate some of the costs there.”

Soldotna currently has two boat-launch areas — one at Swiftwater Park and the other at Centennial Park.

Sprague said that while decreasing the fees will slightly reduce the city’s revenue, the benefit to residents would be worth it.

“It will have a little bit of a negative impact, but I don’t anticipate it being that much,” he said. “I think it will be a quieter experience on the river, which I think most people value.”

Andrew Carmichael, Soldotna’s director of parks and recreation, said that the city has seen up to 2,900 boats launched in a year. However, he said that the number doesn’t distinguish between motorized and non-motorized boats.

Carmichael said that the number of boats in recent years has dropped off due to increased fishing restrictions.

Sprague said that the decision to change the fees wasn’t intended to take the side of any user group. Rather, it was made to provide some financial relief to users of the river.

Reach Ian Foley at ian.foley@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

An 86 pound Kenai River king salmon is measured in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 29, 1995. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion File)
Kenai River king salmon fishing closed entirely for 3rd year

Kenai River king salmon were designated a stock of management concern in 2023.

The Kenai Peninsula College Main Entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
University of Alaska Board of Regents to meet in Soldotna

The last time the board met on the Kenai Peninsula was April 2012.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education member Penny Vadla and student representative Emerson Kapp speak to the joint Alaska House and Senate education committees in Juneau, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)
KPBSD among dozens of districts to deliver in-person testimony to Alaska Legislature

Districts spotlighted programs already lost over years of stagnant funding that hasn’t met inflationary pressure.

Rep. Bill Elam, R-Nikiski, speaks during a town hall meeting hosted by his office at the Nikiski Community Recreation Center in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Education dominates Elam’s 1st town hall as state rep

Education funding dominated much of the conversation.

Kenai Middle School Principal Vaughn Dosko points out elements of a redesign plan for the front of the school on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Work soon to begin on Kenai Middle security upgrades

The security upgrades are among several key KPBSD maintenance projects included in a bond approved by borough voters in October 2022.

The Kenai Fire Department headquarters are photographed on Feb. 13, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Kenai adds funds, authorizes contract for study of emergency services facility

The building shared by Kenai’s police and fire departments hasn’t kept up with the needs of both departments, chief says.

Kenai Parks and Recreation Director Tyler Best shows off a new inclusive seesaw at Kenai Municipal Park in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai awards contract to develop Parks and Rec master plan

The document is expected to guide the next 20 years of outdoors and recreation development in the city.

Balancing Act’s homepage for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget. (Screenshot)
KPBSD launches ‘Balancing Act’ software, calls for public to balance $17 million deficit

The district and other education advocates have said that the base student allocation has failed to keep up with inflation.

Natural gas processing equipment is seen at Furie Operating Alaska’s central processing facility in Nikiski, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Harvest Alaska announces proposed redevelopment of Kenai LNG terminal

The project could deliver additional natural gas supplies to the Southcentral market as early as 2026, developers said.

Most Read