Three Lakes sets
June 17 hearing
on no-wake rules

By Kurt Krueger
News-Review Editor

A public hearing to exempt bodies of water in the town of Three Lakes from state-mandated slow, no-wake zones is scheduled next Thursday, June 17.

The Three Lakes Town Board voted unanimously last month to opt out of the state’s newly enacted slow, no-wake rule within 100 feet of a shoreline, as recommended by a board-appointed citizens committee.

The hearing, scheduled at 6 p.m. in the Three Lakes Community Building, is part of the municipal process for considering an ordinance.

The board agreed to opt out of Act 31 as quickly as possible to minimize the impact on the 2010 boating season. In a rare move, the Legislature passed a law that gave municipalities the option of opting out partially or totally from the rule.

If approved, the ordinance would apply to all lakes in the town and not just the Three Lakes Chain, officials said. The exemption would cover motorboats that are not personal watercraft.

The board’s decision is a reversal of one made March 23, when the board decided without a formal vote to adopt the state mandate, apply to place slow, no-wake buoys in two new locations, and have the local boat patrol monitor boating activity.

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