The city will be going after Okanagan Lake tour boat operators who don乌鸦传媒檛 have a municipal dock licence.
According to Ron Forbes, a former property manager with the city who assisted with implementing the dock licence program, 11 companies have their licence, seven are currently applying and 12 have said they will not be using municipal docks.
乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 what they said and we will tell you right now that乌鸦传媒檚 not true,乌鸦传媒� said Forbes. 乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e got video evidence of a company who was using the boat launches this (past) weekend.乌鸦传媒�
Forbes did not name the company but added there were 16 calls to bylaw for unlicensed companies using city boat launches and two $500 tickets were issued.
乌鸦传媒淭hey were told to leave, refused to leave and they were ticketed for that.乌鸦传媒�
Licensed companies will now have a sticker on their vessels, something Forbes said all operators have been advised of.
乌鸦传媒淪o if they don乌鸦传媒檛 see the sticker and they see a rental going on, we乌鸦传媒檝e invited them to give bylaw a call. That乌鸦传媒檚 been part of the number of calls coming in, are rental companies saying 乌鸦传媒業乌鸦传媒檝e paid my dues, these guys haven乌鸦传媒檛, let乌鸦传媒檚 go get 乌鸦传媒榚m.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
Forbes also said video cameras at docks will be monitored and if an unlicensed company is seen using one bylaw can be sent to ticket them. Council approved licensing fees for commercial operators in March. Forbes said one of the key successes has been a reduction in commercial demand at city-owned docks.
乌鸦传媒淭welve companies have made alternate launching arrangements. Anecdotal evidence suggests there乌鸦传媒檚 been a little bit less congestion.乌鸦传媒�
He noted that launches are still very busy.
乌鸦传媒漎ou will get people who will tell you they乌鸦传媒檝e waited 45 minutes to launch their boat on a Saturday when it乌鸦传媒檚 30 C outside and they don乌鸦传媒檛 like sitting in their vehicles, added Forbes.乌鸦传媒�
Capital News has spoken with several commercial operators, some licensed and some not, who are concerned several private boat owners are offering tours for payment yet are not required to have a dock licence.
READ MORE: 11 men tossed into Okanagan Lake after pontoon boat flips
READ MORE: 乌鸦传媒業乌鸦传媒檓 on a boat乌鸦传媒�: Rental service expands to Kelowna
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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