Electric motors for recreation and rescue allowed on Grindstone Lake

• Check with Parks and Recreation for effective date of new rules

Electric motors for recreation and rescue will be allowed on Grindstone Lake this summer, but Ruidoso village councilors nixed gasoline motors and limited the boat and wake size.

Councilor Joe Eby cast the only nay vote, saying the village may be moving too quickly to add recreational venues at the lake, which serves as the village's main reservoir. He pointed out that the other activities at Grindstone have less impact, such as canoeing, paddle boarding, kayaking, swimming and fishing. People come to Ruidoso for the quiet and natural surroundings, he said, adding the lake could quickly become too busy.

Parks and Recreation Director Rodney Griego said for years people would ask about having boats with motors on the village's two lakes and were told it was against the rules. However, one individual pursued the issue, prompting staff to look at the possibility more in-depth, taking the idea to the Parks Commission and to the village's Development Review Committee composed of department officials.

"After evaluating all of the stipulations and restrictions, we put together a proposed ordinance," he said. "It would only allow motors on Grindstone. Originally, we looked at both lakes, but the committee recommended only for Grindstone, because there is more sediment in Alto, and the way the water intake works, we didn't want to stir the sediment."

Village water rights specialist Eric Boyda said the limitation could be reconsidered later after improvements to the water treatment plant at the lake are in place.

Griego asked councilors to include language banning gas motors on any vessel, "just to be sure it is clear." The maximum length of an allowed boat is 19 feet.

"That makes sense, you don't need more than an electric trolling motor for a little bass boat," Mayor Lynn Crawford said.

Over the past few months talking to people, the response to the proposal was about 50-50 for and against, Griego said. When he determined no state or federal environmental issues were involved, officials moved forward. The concessionaire at the lake, who rents kayaks, canoes and fishing gear, was concerned some boaters may travel too fast and cause a wake, but the ordinance language covers that, Griego said.

The speed is limited to less than 5 nautical miles per hour. Private boating permits shift from seasonal to annual. Fishing hours are sunrise to sunset in a vessel and from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. from shore, the same hours as specified for lake park.

Councilor Tim Coughlin, who offered the motion for approval, said he'd also like to see sailing vessels on the lake, and that small electric motors would be a faster way to reach someone in distress on the lake.

A few people spoke under public input, one cautioning councilors to move slowly and see how new existing recreational opportunities at the lake work first. Another was concerned about someone falling out of a boat with a running motor or creating too large a wake, endangering swimmers and paddle boaters.

Coughlin said he's seen people in canoes and kayaks struggling to paddle back to shore when a wind picks up on the lake. A small motor would solve that problem.

"It's not a huge lake, but big enough to support whatever room there is in the parking lot," he said.

"I don't see a problem and if it becomes one, we can address it," Councilor John Cornelius said.

The new rules take effect five days after publication, which councilors estimated would place the date around May 22, but check with Ruidoso Parks and Recreation at 575-257-5030.