Boat management team to tackle plan for Lake Tapps

Published 1:10 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008

By Dennis Box

The Courier-Herald

The Pierce County Council is in the process of establishing a boat management team for Lake Tapps. The group will develop a boat management plan designed to deal with safety, enforcement and quality of life on and around the lake and advise the council concerning the management of lake activity.

The resolution establishing the team was sponsored and introduced by Pierce County Councilman Shawn Bunney at the June 29 council meeting.

Along with the management team, the council has added $10,000 for the Pierce County Sheriff's Marine Services Unit enforcement effort on the lake.

"With the warm weather there is always the potential for problems on the lake," said Lt. Peter Cropp, who heads up the Sheriff's marine unit. "We will be patrolling earlier and issuing citations hoping to make an impact. We want people to enjoy the lake, not abuse it."

The sheriff's office has one boat assigned to the lake full time and a second boat will be added as needed. Officers on boat patrol are working overtime.

"It's a big area and the proximity to an urban area creates patrol problems other lakes may not have," Cropp said. "It's one of the busiest lakes in the state. User conflicts are a very big thing and the boat management agreement can help that."

Members of the boat management team are lakefront property owners David Holmes, Colleen McIntyre, Gordon Gipson, Gary Johnson and Darcy Zarelli.

Also listed are Bonney Lake Police Lt. Tom Jenkins, Rick Kuss of East Pierce Fire and Rescue, Russ Larson from the boat sale industry, Lynette Noble, representing recreation boating interests, Michele McGrady from Puget Sound Energy, Jan Walcott from Pierce County Parks, Jerry Lawerence, representing the Pierce County Sheriff's Office and Katherine Brooks as a facilitator.

The Pierce County Sheriff's marine unit patrols the northern three-quarters of the lake and the Bonney Lake marine unit patrols the Church Lake area. Lake Tapps covers about 2,700 acres.

Bonney Lake uses two officers and one boat to patrol. Both Pierce County and Bonney Lake officers provide support to each other when needed.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald