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Lauderdale Lakes BREEZE Summer 2018 • Third Edition
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RICHARD GUIDRY Lauderdale Lakes Breeze
Gregory Guidry leaves a trail of spray as he waterskis on Mill Lake near Elkhorn. A change in state law now allows boat drivers to pull skiers without a separate spotter in the boat to monitor skiers, however, the Town of LaGrange voted to retain the spotter rule.
Local lakes retain spotter regulation State had eliminated rule to boost tourism
BY Jason Arndt STAFF WRITER
L
uring visitors from out of state was the cornerstone for recent legislation eliminating the requirement for water ski spotters on Wisconsin lakes. But some local governments, including the Town of LaGrange, have voted to retain the spotter rule for safety reasons. Municipalities with inland lakes – like the Town of LaGrange, which is home to Lauderdale Lakes – are allowed to create an ordinance to retain the spotter rule under two specific conditions. Conditions include the employment of a water safety patrol, which performs a minimum of 1,500 hours of enforcement every two years. The spotter rule requires a second person in the boat besides the driver to watch the skiers,
wakeboarders, surfers or tubers that are being towed. The recent legislation eliminated that requirement as long as the driver has a wide-angle rearview mirror to monitor those being towed. The legislation, which was signed into law in March, had been a topic of conversation for at least three years. State Sen. Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls, one of the coauthors of the bill, reported in written testimony in March 2017 that constituents approached him about removing the water ski restriction. Moulton, skeptical at the time, decided to look into the matter by reviewing a water ski law in neighboring Minnesota. “Since 1960, residents and visitors in Minnesota, the birthplace of water skiing, have been able to water ski without a spotter onboard when a boat
is equipped with a wide-angle rearview mirror,” he wrote in the testimony before the Senate Committee on Sporting, Heritage, Mining and Forestry. Moulton, citing data from 2015, states Minnesota had 185,000 more registered motorboats than Wisconsin, but saw three fewer deaths with eight. He also noted in the last six years, Minnesota had 28 percent fewer skier-involved incidents per 100,000 registered boats than Wisconsin. “I am convinced that this is a safe and practical change that has the potential to benefit both (residents and visitors),” he states. The benefits, he said, relate mainly to visitors who travel with only one other person. Moulton, citing state Department of Tourism numbers, revealed 76 percent of tourists did not have a third person with them. “Under current law, these parties
would be unable to waterski during their visit to Wisconsin without a third person,” he wrote. Former State Rep. Adam Jarchow, R-Balsam Lake, coauthored the bill, and added his region relies heavily on tourism revenue from Minnesota. “In the summer, my district sees thousands of Minnesota residents come to their Wisconsin lake homes enjoying their vacations and spending millions in tourism dollars,” Jarchow wrote in his testimony. Locally, state Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, declined to vote on the matter. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Burlington, and Samantha Kerkman, R-Salem Lakes, supported the bill. The Association of Wisconsin Tourism Attractions endorsed the bill while the Badger State Sheriffs Association and Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association opposed the change.
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