Boat owners seem to have accepted new ramp launch fees introduced by the Waitaki District Council this season for facilities it administers at Waitaki lakes.
Council property manager Dougall McIntyre said yesterday the new fees - $5 a day or $50 for a season ticket - had been "pretty well accepted".
At this stage, he did not know how much had been collected in fees, but they would be kept separate from other lakes fees and used to improve boating facilities, including ramps, in the lakes' area.
A couple of people had questioned the reason for the fees, but when it was explained they were for improving boat and harbour facilities, they were happy to pay.
No-one had refused to pay.
"Just recently there has been a large number of inquiries about both launch fees and camp sites from the Canterbury and Christchurch areas for late this month and early February - people waiting to see how settled the weather is going to be," he said. More tickets had had to be printed.
The biggest problem had been tickets or stickers not clearly displayed on vehicles, boats or trailers.
Notices were placed on vehicles about the fees and asking people to contact the supervisor.
Initially, the council issued a card to be displayed on the dashboard of vehicles, but in late October started issuing stickers for the vehicle, trailer and boat, based on a system used at Picton.
The stickers had worked better than the cards.
Mr McIntyre said income from the ramp fees would be built up, with the council identifying priorities for improvements in launch and harbour facilities.
Repairs were planned to holes in the ramp at Sailor's Cutting, but they were to be done by Land Information NZ as part of an agreement to bring facilities up to a set standard before being handed over to the council.
The Waitaki council administers the camping and launch facilities on the south side of the Waitaki lakes. Ramp launch charges are included in the daily and season camping tickets.
The Mackenzie and Waimate district councils administer those on the north side and do not have launch fees.
