PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners plan to hold a town hall meeting in January to help resolve a controversy involving boat wake at Lake Sutherland.
The three commissioners agreed Monday to develop a technological format for the virtual meeting and find a mediator to facilitate the discussion.
Commissioners received a large volume of public comment last month from Lake Sutherland property owners who expressed concern about erosion and safety issues associated with ballasted boats used for wakesurfing and wakeboarding.
Other property owners and recreationalists expressed concerns about regulations that would restrict wake boats, saying the issue was being overblown.
“There are a lot of different aspects to this conversation,” said Commissioner Mark Ozias, board chairman, in a Monday work session.
“There’s an enforcement aspect, there’s a legal aspect, there’s an ecological aspect, there’s a community aspect, recreational, et cetera.
“We’ll work to identify appropriate folks to highlight each of those, and we’re going to shoot for having some sort of a facilitated or mediated conversation,” Ozias added.
Commissioners are expected to announce a date for the town hall meeting in December.
The board took no action after 26 speakers testified about boat wake on Lake Sutherland in an Oct. 20 meeting. Commissioners also received a large volume of written correspondence.
“What I would appreciate is the opportunity to see if there’s any middle ground,” Commissioner Bill Peach said in Monday’s meeting.
“One approach might be to review the communication that we’ve already received and identify a couple of advocates on both sides of that issue and ask them to take point.
“The reason for that approach is if we try to have a telecommunication town hall meeting, we run the risk of quite a lengthy conversation that’s not that structured,” Peach added.
Clallam County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez issued a three-page memo to the board outlining its authority to regulate wake boats on the 361-acre lake west of Port Angeles.
Alvarez said the board does have authority under general police power. He added that no county ordinance should be enacted until the board holds what amounts to an evidentiary hearing to hear from citizens on both sides.
“In this memo legal has tried to highlight to the BoCC (Board of County Commissioners) that it must act deliberately and thoroughly before enacting any ban or limits on the use of ‘wake boats’ on Lake Sutherland,” Alvarez wrote.
“A defensible ordinance doing so can be crafted.”
Alvarez used all capital letters to say the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office takes no position on the issue. Commissioners also have not taken sides.
Commissioner Randy Johnson said those with vested interests in the issue should work together to find solutions.
“Those people are, A, the ones that are the most knowledgeable, and, B, certainly the ones most interested in this,” Johnson said.
“It’s much better to have all the individuals involved out at Lake Sutherland see if they can’t work it out, and only as a last resort should it come to what you just talked about, which is an evidentiary hearing,” Johnson added.
“I just don’t really want to go there unless we have to.”
Peach suggested commissioners hold another work session on the topic in mid-December to set the stage for the town hall meeting in January.
“I’d like to make sure the public is informed,” Peach said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
