Published: March 01, 2008 10:04 pm         

It’s time to OK boats on Piney Reservoir

It has been three years since Tom Reed — then Frostburg’s commissioner of water, parks and recreation — decided that he would not allow boats on Piney Reservoir, where the city’s water is stored.

Well, guess what. Reed is no longer in office. Doug Lemmert, who pretty much ran on a recreation ticket, was narrowly elected to Reed’s old seat. Lemmert has been somewhat of a silent partner, at least publicly, since beating Ronald Dugan 578 to 576 in 2006. Reed chose not to run again.

With another election coming up in June, this would be a good time for Lemmert to speak up and stump for the fishing vote, stepping forward to make boating a legal activity on the 115-acre lake that is the home of some pretty doggone nice fish.

Lemmert would no doubt have the backing of John Ralston, the city’s public safety commissioner. After all, it was Ralston who originally asked for boating on the impoundment, citing requests from constituents. Lemmert would likely have the support of Susan Keller, the city’s commissioner of public works. Keller said in 2004 that in her home country of New England there are numerous drinking water impoundments where boating is allowed as long as gasoline-powered motors are not used.

Even if Mayor Arthur Bond and Finance Commissioner Richard Weimer would vote against boating — and who is to say they would — it would go into effect if favored by Lemmert, Keller and Ralston.

And I know for a fact that City Administrator John Kirby is an avid fisherman.

Anyhoo, back in 2005, Reed made the decision all by himself. In those days, the elected officials in Frostburg were working both sides of the aisle, saying that some things had to be decided upon by the whole group and other things could be decided upon by the appropriate commissioner. They used whichever approach suited them on a particular subject.

Whatever it takes. Let’s git-R-done whether it be via a group vote or by a Lemmert decree.

Based upon his comments in 2004, it appears that Chris Hovatter, the city’s director of public works, could be swayed to favor floating fly flippers or boating bait bobbers.

Hovatter originally asked the elected officials in those days to reject boating, saying that the reservoir was constructed to supply drinking water and not for recreation. Later, however, Hovatter said his recommendation was “not a strong one” and that he could accept restricted boating if the mayor and council would vote to allow it.

Time is of the essence. Fishing season approaches.

Al Klotz, a fishery biologist with Maryland Inland Fisheries, said the lake is stocked annually with catchable-sized trout. Also, it receives fingerling walleye and holds bass, muskies and panfish.

“The lake has a high density of what we consider trophy-sized largemouth bass,” Klotz said, meaning fish of at least 15 inches and two pounds.

The reservoir, constructed in 1934, lies in eastern Garrett County north of the Finzel exit on Interstate 68.

Reed rejected boating because of safety concerns, yet boating takes place on numerous drinking water reservoirs in the area without incident. Such lakes include Broadford Lake near Oakland and Lakes Koon and Gordon in Bedford County, Pa., which stores one of the ingredients for a bourbon and water that is enjoyed in Cumberland.

The city in 2004 even had the situation studied by an environmental planning class at Frostburg State University.

That class, in a report, wrote that limited boating with small, manually operated craft would not jeopardize water quality.

In 2004, Hovatter speculated that legalized boating would increase the number of fishermen at the reservoir and could result in more crime and require more enforcement.

Ralston countered at the time that his discussions with the commander of the Maryland State Police in LaVale indicated that putting more users in one place actually reduces problems because the fishermen would regulate themselves.

Bottom line: There are some big fish in Piney Reservoir that need to be caught and many of them can’t be reached by shoreline-bound anglers.

Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.