During a visit to the Ridgefield boat launch on Lake River earlier this year, longtime boater Rick Grenz discovered a note on his vehicle’s windshield that shocked him.
In bold, red letters, it read “use fee required.” This wasn’t news to Grenz since he was familiar with the use of the Port of Ridgefield-owned boat launch and how it operated. He hadn’t used the facility for several months and simply hadn’t purchased the annual pass he usually gets.
It was when he went to buy the pass that he learned about the significant changes to the waterfront’s pass policy. As of this year, the port charges a $12 daily use fee. Those who live within the 98642 ZIP code — the geographic area of the port’s tax base — can receive an annual unlimited pass for $50.
This is a change from past years, where daily use was $10 and annual passes were available for $45 for in-district users and $55 for those who lived outside of the ZIP code.
The new fee schedule means those who live outside of the district don’t have the opportunity to pay for an annual pass. With salmon season coming to an end on Friday, Grenz expected more boaters to experience an unpleasant surprise when they discover the changes in the fee schedule.
“When these people start finding out they’re paying $12 a pop because they can’t get an annual pass like they used to, they’re not going to be happy,” Grenz said.
Grenz also took issue with the new policy on commercial boat launch users, who can pay a $100 fee for their own annual pass. While the general public can only get a pass if they live in the port district, any commercial operation can obtain one regardless of where they are headquartered.
“That doesn’t sound fair,” Grenz said.
On Sept. 28, the Port of Ridgefield Board of Commissioners voted to change the use fees on port-owned property along Lake River. Every year the port commissioners set the rates for the boat launch use as part of the annual budget process, Port of Ridgefield CEO Randy Mueller said.
After researching who bought the annual passes, the port found two-thirds of pass holders live outside of the port district, and aren’t paying property taxes to fund the port, Mueller said.
“Actually about half were from Oregon,” Mueller said.
Mueller noted the boat launch isn’t a self-supporting operation. The fees are lower than what it would require to run it without subsidy from the port’s other revenues. For this year, the port expects $100,000 in revenue from use fees, while the operation of the launch and related properties is more than $200,000.
“Instead of being supported by the tax dollars … you’d be paying much higher prices,” Mueller said.
With the population explosion of Ridgefield and the surrounding
area, it required the port to take a hard look at how it ran the boat launch facilities, Mueller said.
“It’s a question of (the fact that) we’re running out of room, and maybe it didn’t make sense to continue to offer an unlimited annual use pass to non-port district residents, and maybe it made more sense to prioritize our taxpayers and make sure they had the opportunity,” Mueller said.
Another change to the fee schedule removed any charges for those looking to head out on the water in a non-motorized craft. Mueller said the unpowered craft fee waiver came after consideration that those users are directed to launch from Division Street, which has an unimproved but accessible bank on the river where kayakers, paddleboarders and other users of non-motorized craft can access the water.
“If they’re not using the (main) boat launch, it’s probably not appropriate to make them pay a fee to use the boat launch,” Mueller said.
Compared to the motorized boat users, the unpowered ones have a relatively low impact on port facilities.
The port has owned the boat launch since 2000 when it swapped land with the city in exchange for property near the city’s wastewater treatment facility. In 2004, the launch received a significant revamp of its infrastructure, Mueller said.
Data is currently not available to compare current sales of passes to past years, Mueller said. The port has received anecdotal feedback, however.
“There certainly have been some disappointed boaters that have been buying annual passes for a very long time that live outside of the Ridgefield area,” Mueller said. “There have also been some very pleased Ridgefield residents, port district residents, that appreciate being prioritized as a taxpayer.”
