Gilmer County’s Post Two Commissioner is upset about what she described as a dangerous environment for tubers and kayakers on the Cartecay River, as well as local river outfitters not adhering to a county ordinance that covers prohibited activities.
“Our ordinance reads that it is against the law in that section of the river for anyone who is with an outfitter to consume alcohol. If they are private property owners they can, but no one with the outfitters is allowed to consume alcohol or have glass containers or get out of their boats or tubes because that property is private,” said Post Two Commissioner Karleen Ferguson about recent activity in the Cartecay River- Mulkey Road-Blackberry Mountain bridge area.
“There is some history there with people who lived along the river complaining about folks getting out of their boats or tubes and walking on their property or even going to the bathroom on their property. It had gotten much better with this enforcement,” she added.
Ferguson said she’s received complaints from property owners and security that those and other rules are not being followed.
River outfitters using buses or vans to transport customers are supposed to use precautions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted.
“They were told to transport families who came together separately, so you didn’t put everyone together, to discourage the possible spread of COVID-19. I’ve had several folks commenting about seeing the large numbers, and people packed together waiting for these buses and vans and being put in (them) for the outfitters,” Ferguson said.
Earlier this year, the board of commissioners waived a $1 per tuber or kayaker fee for outfitters that use the Mulkey Road takeout, which is county-owned property, Ferguson said.
“There are several different things for which we are able to use that funding that is completely set aside for river operations,” she added.
“When (the outfitters) came in this year, they were concerned with COVID and thought their numbers might be down. Chairman (Charlie) Paris wanted to help them make up some of that difference and he asked the board to waive the fees for this year. This year, there are only two outfitters. Coosawattee chose not to have their tubing open this year due to a lot of different things. We did not know that going in and that put a lot more folks going to the other two outfitters, who are Cartecay River Experience and Ellijay River Outfitters.”
The outfitters are still supposed to give each person traveling the river a wristband that lists prohibited activities, Ferguson said.
“The wristbands are color coded to differentiate between the outfitters. They are numbered so we can get a count of how many people are on our rivers. It also says on the bands that alcohol is prohibited and the river banks are private property,” she added.
Ferguson visited the area near the Blackberry Mountain gated community and saw firsthand what the conditions were like.
“The Sunday before last I went and I stood on the bridge. I was so upset with the beer cans floating past and the liquor bottles on the side. Trash is everywhere. I went to the county trash can and the privacy wall we put up in between county and private property next door and there were beer cans on either side of the wall,” she added. “Our county trash can that we pay to get dumped each week was three-quarters full and I only saw one or two water bottles and the rest were beer cans. I had conversations with people waiting on the vans and asked them about the wristbands. They didn’t know anything about them.”
At an Aug. 12 BOC work session, Ferguson apologized for the commissioners not following through with enforcing established guidelines for local tubing and kayaking outfitters.
“I was going down there to record a video to promote our rivers and what I came upon was pretty much what I would call chaos. I can’t even call it controlled chaos. I publicly want to apologize to our community for not being better stewards of our rivers,” she said then.
Ferguson said she’s especially concerned about the upcoming Labor Day holiday, which will likely bring a larger number of tubers and kayakers to the river.
“Our next meeting is not till Sept. 9, which is after Labor Day. That’s why I’m asking the board to address this ASAP. I’m not opposed to people coming safely down our rivers. I want them to use our rivers, but I also believe in the responsibility of our outfitters to be good stewards of our rivers and run safe operations,” she noted. “I have looked into what other outfitters are doing. In Helen, they have a huge tubing business and you cannot get on their vans or buses without a mask. They are taking precautions.”
The next step will be a letter to the outfitters notifying them of the violations.
“I blame myself and I feel guilty about it because I am passionate about maintaining our trails and I consider our water important trails in our community, as well,” Ferguson said. “I want the word to get out that we care and we are going to take this matter seriously and enforce the laws that our local board of commissioners has written.”
Ferguson welcomes messages about river activity from concerned property owners and others at her county email address: kferguson@gilmercounty-ga.gov.