All you OKC fishermen

Lazylakedog - Bob is under immense pressure right now by the administration over all the attention given to the hatchery. I suspect the public is bombarding the council members with calls and emails. My councilman,Gary Marrs, indicated that he had received numerous emails and calls. The public must be getting upset over the possible loss. There is something going on under foot,in my opinion, that is not good. I do not know what it is yet but something is not right. The City is receiving money in excess of the annual hatchery cost and instead of cutting 12% out of the hatchery budget the hatchery is being targeted for closure. Think about that for a moment.

I cannot comment any further on this, I'm sorry.

I'm concerned that if they keep the hatchery open, they will raise the price of a permit.

Fishermen are the only users of OKC parks and recreation that have to pay our own way.

If they close the hatchery, I won't buy another permit or boat permit. I'm done with it. Its the most unfair , unjust thing I've ever seen. There is absolutely no justification to charge for a permit without spending money to maintain or improve the fishing.

But I will say this also, that from what I hear, the only way the hatchery remains open is if they hear from enough fishermen. If the fishermen don't speak up, it will be their fault as much as Whisenhunt and the Council.

There comes a time when fishermen have to speak up and quit allowing themselves to get pushed around.

Two Bits, I totally agree...the permits to me are already too high....I pay that much to fish in a pond with no fish???.....I would do better fishing in a pothole!...Another thing....a boat permit is 25...which I guess if you are just boating is an ok price to get your boat on the water...but, If you ever fish around the sailboat docks...take a minute and look at the last date on the sticker of those????...I figure if the last time a guy bought a sticker was in 94 then thats good enough for me not too buy one next time as well.

Now the really bad news...I just read an article that states that 24 police and 29 firefighters might be laid off because of the budget shortfall.....so I would have to imagine that fishing is the last thing on the city councils mind at the moment.

Yep, up here in Tulsa we have already been laying off emergency services people. The Tulsa Police Department lost 124 officers earlier this year. Times are extremely tough.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lazylakedog

Now the really bad news...I just read an article that states that 24 police and 29 firefighters might be laid off because of the budget shortfall.....so I would have to imagine that fishing is the last thing on the city councils mind at the moment.

---

It does not matter how many cops they lay off.

The issue is ........ that we pay for a permit. And if that money does not go to fishing then there's no rationale for charging us for a permit.

They would be taxing us just because we fish.

They don't tax people to water ski. The ski boat guy buys a permit for his boat like we do, but then he does not have to pay to water ski when we have to pay to fish.

They can not expect us to pay a tax the other citizens do not have to pay.

The rest of it is their problem.

If they tax us, then they should tax everybody who uses parks and lakes ......... they can not just tax one group of people.

2bits - It is called discrimination. Keep the presure up, keep calling. Its working. The administration is getting nervous.

There is a permit fee to ride motorcycles at Draper...there used to be a permit required to water ski there...There might even be a fee required to ride horses there...not sure about that one...I never figured any of that money went into the water itself....It sure has bought alot of nice payment for freeloading walkers and bike riders...I think there should be at least a five or ten dollar fee for bikes to ride on the trails we bought for them....I wonder what the non-payers would do if the trails were going to close....and as for the lay offs....as I recall the mayor stated that if we all passed maps 3 that the public services would not be affected and funded from that money...and what about that extra money we pay every month for emsa service....last I heard they were throwing that away on a 150,000 dollar study on bus routes...hhhhmmmmmmm......face it guys.....fishing is not priority....I for one can't wait for elections to clean house on that council....when you call ticked off about closing the hatchery....be sure to mention you are ticked off about how they are spending your hard earned money on useless projects and being dishonest to you as a citizen.

If they move forward with this every single fisherman who uses those waters should boycott them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lazylakedog

There is a permit fee to ride motorcycles at Draper...there used to be a permit required to water ski there...There might even be a fee required to ride horses there...not sure about that one...I never figured any of that money went into the water itself....It sure has bought alot of nice payment for freeloading walkers and bike riders...I think there should be at least a five or ten dollar fee for bikes to ride on the trails we bought for them....I wonder what the non-payers would do if the trails were going to close....and as for the lay offs....as I recall the mayor stated that if we all passed maps 3 that the public services would not be affected and funded from that money...and what about that extra money we pay every month for emsa service....last I heard they were throwing that away on a 150,000 dollar study on bus routes...hhhhmmmmmmm......face it guys.....fishing is not priority....I for one can't wait for elections to clean house on that council....when you call ticked off about closing the hatchery....be sure to mention you are ticked off about how they are spending your hard earned money on useless projects and being dishonest to you as a citizen.

---

And the mayor was correct. I voted for MAPS3, and I would vote for it again. Those monies are for projects that are completely separate from everyday city operations, just like a bond issue for street projects or capital improvements. That's just basic municipal finance, everything is funded and accounted for separately.

Those are not useless projects and I'm very happy with the direction the city is going. I just disagree on this particular issue. When you start hammering away at everything the city does, it just weakens your argument.

And the only fee to water ski is buying a boat permit. I can understand a permit for off road trails, I'm sure there's maintenance involved on those trails from time to time. But if you wanna go there ........ then golfers have to pay to play the golf courses ........ the difference is the off road trails and golf courses are single use venues.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by meatdragger

If they move forward with this every single fisherman who uses those waters should boycott them.

---

Yes, they should. But they won't. Which is why Whisenhunt knows he can get away with this. He sounds confident , at least to me, that fishermen will continue to buy permits.