The Town of Green Lake is once again reviewing its launch fees.
He can change his existing order. At the same time, the city wants to make it easier for visitors and residents to pay boat launch fees.
Additionally, the city plans to seek grants that can be used for repairs to the boat launch, which could take place this fall.
Last week, last Wednesday, the Green Lake Parks & Recreation/Tree Board voted unanimously to recommend Common Council approve a proposal that would allow individuals to virtually pay for boat launch permits.
Additionally, the Park & Rec Board is reviewing its launch fee order again after Shoreline Boat Center owner John Meiborg spoke to the board about the launch fee.
Prescription discussion
Meiborg noted that the companies partnered with the city a few years ago and agreed to make an annual donation of $650 rather than buying daily boat launch permits.
He said there’s one business owner who doesn’t like the $650 fee and prefers to pay for individual launches, and “likes to buy the stickers from his personal side and then put them in his utility vehicles.” .
“I think there needs to be some clarification regarding the prescription rule so that it can be applied between all of us,” Meiborg said. “…The city needs to clarify so that all business ventures are on the same page.”
Since the city has increased the daily fee from $5 to $7, Meiborg added that he thinks the annual fee for those who use the boat launch for commercial purposes should also increase.
“There’s nothing wrong with increasing,” he said. “It will help us get our new launch sooner.”
Board member Steve Siders helped the city change its boat launch fee ordinance last year, after Norton Dry Dock owner Chuck Hurley told the Park & Rec Board that the old order’s $650 commercial boat launch fee unfairly targeted business owners.
The commercial portion of the order has been adjusted to allow companies to pay $7 per launch up to a total of $650 for the year, Siders said.
“We were totally on board with the DNR,” Siders said, noting that it was open to increasing the maximum annual fee for commercial users.
Chairman of Park & Rec, Ald. Jon McConnell noted that the board would review the order and discuss it again at its next meeting.
Collection software
In addition to discussing the ordinance, Director of Public Works Jason Carley presented a proposal from software company Invoice Cloud, Inc.
Invoice Cloud would allow customers to make payments online from the city’s website, streamline the payment process, offer a 24/7 customer portal, and customize invoices that can be paid online. line, according to a copy of the proposal.
Carley said users can use a QR code to access an online menu for payments. He noted that the city would likely start with just paying the launch fee, but that could add things over time.
Additionally, the director of public works said the software would allow the city to get information about who is using its boat ramps and where they are coming from.
It would also help law enforcement, as the software would provide a list of people who paid launch fees, making it easier for the city to verify the list if they see an unknown vehicle on water, Carley said.
If the city uses the Invoice Cloud service for boat launches, it would cost a monthly access fee of $50, a $1.50 per transaction fee and $35 in other fees, according to the proposal.
Carley said the $1.50 fee per transaction would be minimized if the city chose to use Invoice Cloud for other payments such as parking tickets or campground deposits.
“It’s endless,” he said. “Anything people pay, they can browse this site.”
To learn more about the service, the Director of Public Works spoke with officials at Winneconne, which also uses Invoice Cloud. Carley said Winneconne officials “love” using the service.
Carley added that it would take Invoice Cloud 40 days to get their service up and running in Green Lake, and their goal is to get it up and running for the May fishing season.
“At the end of the day, if we do it for a year and find it doesn’t work and we don’t like it, we can always get rid of it,” he said.
Park & Rec Board councilor Elaine Houser said the digital collection service would benefit the city, which has limited staff.
“It’s a smart move for the city to go in this direction, even with the cost of $1.50 per transaction,” she said. “In the long run, it will save on people dealing with paperwork, accounting factors and things of that nature.”
Now that the Park & Rec Board has approved the proposal, it will then be sent to City Council for final approval.