Monroe considers wakeboard center on Lake Tye

Published 9:07 pm Sunday, October 30, 2011

MONROE — The City Council could direct staff to negotiate a lease agreement for a wakeboarding facility. It also could reject the proposal and leave Lake Tye as it is.

Either way, the council is to make a decision at its Tuesday meeting at City Hall, 806 W. Main St.

The council won’t decide if the facility should be built on Lake Tye. Instead, it will only decide whether to tell staff to negotiate with H3O Development on the terms of a lease, Monroe’s economic development manager Jeff Sax said.

H3O Development wants to build a wakeboarding course on the south end of the lake with cables connected to eight lattice towers that would pull the wakeboarders through the water without the need of a boat. The park would take less than half of the 42 acres of the lake. A 2,500-square-feet building for a retail shop and lockers also are planned between the lake and the skateboard park.

About 40 people showed up at the last council meeting Oct. 18 when the proposed wakeboarding facility was discussed. The majority of those who spoke opposed the plan, saying among other things that wakeboarding would disrupt other park activities, the area has too little parking and wakeboarding could potentially harm the environment.

People in favor of the proposal were mostly from outside city limits, and said the facility will attract wakeboarders to the area and bring much needed revenue to Monroe. City staff also have said the wakeboarding park would not disrupt other activities at the park.

The council is expected to vote on the proposed lease agreement Nov. 15. If approved, H3O Development plans to pay for the environmental impact study and address any possible parking needs, company managers said.

Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.