Name:	BAJ -	Reply
Subject:	Sad news...
Date:	7/3/2019 11:33:18 AM

Ran across this note from Alex City Guide Service: "NOTICE : From this day forward we will not be booking night trips . DAY TRIPS WILL CONTINUE TO BE BOOKED AS USUAL. This decision was not made hastily, due to more inexperienced boaters, impaired operators and just down right ignorant operators purposely (like last night) trying to scare us and our clients by acting like your going to run over us (and yes I mean on purpose) “YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE” we have decided enough is enough and before we get any of clients or guides injured or killed at night we are ending the night bookings . If you are already booked for nights we will honor those previously booked or you may reschedule for day trips."

There are just too many idiots on the water; some of them are idiots because they're stupid, and some are idiots becase they are obnoxious (I was going to use another word) but they're all idiots...

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Sad news...
Date:	7/3/2019 12:08:16 PM

We used to love going on night cruises, listening to music and crusing around or stopping and floating in the relative silence loooking at stars, etc.  However, over the last few years we have had far too many scary experiences with boaters crusing along at 90 mph and coming too close to us for comfort.  Half the time I am not even sure they ever saw us. 

I personally think boats should be required to have strobes like airplanes.  On airplanes we have a green and red lights on the wingtips along with strobes that can easily be distinguished from lights on the shore. Either way, I think this is a prudent move by the fishing guide company.  Too much risk.

Name:	Buteye -	Reply
Subject:	Sad news...
Date:	7/3/2019 2:54:32 PM

It's almost becoming too dangerous to be on the lake at all! Last Sunday myself and my son and his family were boating from Blue Creek  to Chimney Rock to carry a young friend of my grandaughters to meet her parents. The number of young kids on waverunners, adults on all kinds of watercraft of all types(especially wake boats and a good number of pontoon boats with powerful single engine outboards and and some with twin engine outboards) were creating dangereous situations in all parts of the lake. It seems that too many on the lake are maybe the "obnoxious" type and are "oblivious" to the safety and rights of others. The number of Marine Police are so limited that it has become almost impossible to patrol the lake for all the bad "actors".

Name:	Crimson4Lif -	Reply
Subject:	Sad news...
Date:	7/3/2019 5:32:42 PM

If you think the lake has been crazy these past couple of weeks...wait til they let the animals out of the zoo for the weekend.  With the weather being nice it is going to be absolutely ridiculous up there on the water this weekend.  Be safe...I'm opting for the beach...rather get eaten by a shark than run over by a sea doo.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Sad news...
Date:	7/3/2019 11:27:22 PM

Get used to it. From what I am reading in the Outlook, Alexander City wants to increase their tax base using Lake Martin - partnered with Russell Lands.  One article was talking about the amount of undeveloped shore line.  In partnership with Russell Lands, I suspect they see that as ripe for development, meaning more people, and more boats.  

We never take our boat out on the weekend.  It is just not enjoyable having to dodge children being pulled on rafts, jet skiiers, wake boats, people swimming in the water, and people that seem to have no idea about boating safety.  We wait until the weekdays, when it is nice and quiet.  It's amazing to to me that there aren't more accidents.  

Name:	BAJ -	Reply
Subject:	Sad news...
Date:	7/4/2019 2:16:52 AM

I read that! And all I could think was "How stupid do you have to be to have the mindset of "People love our undeveloped shoreline so much that we should develop it so more people can enjoy it!"

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Sad news...
Date:	7/4/2019 7:44:46 AM

Alex  City government is a joke. Nothing but Russell Lands puppets. The economic development team is even worse. Supposedly the future of alex city is tourism but the problem with that is there is no where for these tourists to stay anywhere near the only tourist attraction. Wind Creek is super nice but few folks have an RV or a disregarded to stay in one. Same with AirBandB. Most folks just want a  nice hotel on the water to stay in. Best we can offer is cheap motels miles from the water. I don't give a damn how many murals you paint downtown, no tourist in the world is going to come to AC to see it. The lake is the only tourist attraction that has the capabilities to draw tourists. I hate to break it to all the rich bored white women who own/operate the downtown businesses, but downtown is her. not viable. Business is not coming back. The only truly viable business downtown has closed and no matter what goes back in that space, it won't make it either. The city is quickly moving most of the customer base to the highway and they won't be coming back downtown to eat lunch or shop. But WTH, they got their Talent Mahal to go to work in while the citizens get 9 million in debt to pay off, when they could have gotten the building for free a few years before. Great stewardship of our money. Haha.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

Name:	Carlson -	Reply
Subject:	From bad to worse news!
Date:	7/4/2019 8:25:51 AM

This subject turned untra nasty ??. 

From the Real Island side, we have our nuts boaters but it’s not quite that bad, yet!  

Have a nice 4th!

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	The Negative Impact
Date:	7/4/2019 11:16:47 AM

This tread will certainly not help the price of real estate. Who wants to buy on a lake with such negative comments from those who "try" to enjoy it?

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	The Negative Impact
Date:	7/4/2019 12:36:33 PM

You obviously don't live here.  The truth is the truth.  I happen to live in a quiet slough with little boat traffic.  But get out in the larger part of the lake on the weekends and you have to know what you are doing and be watchful.  And if they continue to develop currently undeveloped shoreline to increase Alex City's tax base, it's not going to be a pretty thing.  If that is negative, so be it.  I've heard talk of putting in a big water park to attract tourists.  

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	The Negative Impact
Date:	7/4/2019 4:35:45 PM

Hopefully not on the 223 acres for sale on Coosa 20. Agree with you that whoever buys it will probably not be interested in status quo.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	From bad to worse news!
Date:	7/4/2019 6:55:21 PM

I learned long ago to avoid amateur weekends on the Real Island side, but it is getting to the point that every weekend during the summer is amateur weekend(especially with our current neighbors). At least my work schedule allows for at least one weekday when I can get up there.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Hodja
Date:	7/4/2019 9:20:44 PM

We did some research.  It belongs to some Baptist Foundation.  It was given to them by a man who no longer wanted to pay taxes on it.  Now the Foundation is trying to sell it.  $800,000.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	From bad to worse news!
Date:	7/4/2019 9:25:06 PM

This afternoon, a yellow speedboat pulling a raftful of kids came roaring into our slough.  A lot of my neighbors have the kids and grandkids here this weekend, and a lot of kids were in the water.  I heard one of the neighbors yell out to the driver, and he turned around and slowed down, but of course, the waves were already hitting the boat houses, the floating docks.  I would imagine that those waves could be too much for young kids to handle.  The thing is, there is open water at the end of our slough, and there didn't seem to be a lot of boat traffic that I could see.  

Name:	realfast64 -	Reply
Subject:	Hodja
Date:	7/5/2019 10:17:15 AM

  Wrong Wrong Wrong

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Okay
Date:	7/5/2019 4:36:54 PM

Then the tax records must be wrong.  What is right?  223 acres on the corner of Coosa 20 and By-water.  It's listed for $800,000, unless the real estate listing is wrong too.

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Hodja
Date:	7/5/2019 10:39:10 PM

So what is right right right, and from where comes your information?

Name:	dogleg -	Reply
Subject:	From bad to worse news!
Date:	7/9/2019 12:24:06 PM

We’ve had a house on the southeastern send of the lake since 1961. For most of my life, the southern end has been the less developed, less crowded part of the lake. Somewhere around the lake house is a pamphlet published by APCO and Russel Lands in the late 1970s or so, that contained propaganda about how special Lake Martin is. It discussed how policies put in place by both entities, specifically the intention to maintain over 50% of lake front property undeveloped and to not allow multi-family properties, condos, on APCO/ RL lands on the lake......HA!.... the apparent exponential increase in boat traffic, idiots and drunks behind the wheel, and generally mean spirited behavior is directly proportional to the number of condos now on the lake, especially on the southeastern end. A cabin or mega mansion with say 200’ of lakefront May put two boats on the lake. For every 200’ lakefront associated with multi story condos such as at Still Waters or whatever  they call it today, one can expect 20 additional boats on the lake. It appears two more large complexes are underway at Still Waters and if they can cram any more in Blue Creek, I guess they will.

i know many may think, "it’s about making the lake accessable to more people. You already have a place here...you were new to the lake at onetime....yadda yadda" e originally paid $750.00 for a 15 year leas o an APCO lot and built, as required, a cabin....don’t know how much more blue collar accessible it could get. I know that’s not the deal now and property values have skyrocketed but the point is, this development is not about anything other than making big money and basically cashing in on an heirloom by destroying it.

Want to see the end result? To to lake Sinclair near Atlanta. Or better ye, come to the southern end around us and imagine the whole lake that way.

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	From bad to worse news!
Date:	7/9/2019 3:21:29 PM

Looked up Sinclair on Google Maps.

Yikes!  Like being in the suburbs, just with a lake as a back yard.  A little area seems undeveloped but the rest has houses almost stacked on top of each other.

Name:	Swelch -	Reply
Subject:	From bad to worse news!
Date:	7/11/2019 12:05:08 PM

Like you, we have had our place since 1962. While I believe

everyone has a right to enjoy the lake, every year seems to get worse

with there being a total disrespect for neighbors any more. Due to

the increasing cost of being able to have a place on the lake it seems as 

if people feel that if they can afford to own a home or weekend cabin on the 

lake that they are entitled to act anyway they please. That has never made sense to me

duevto the fact if you were in a residential community that wasn’t waterfront it would never 

be tolerated by the community. I guess it’s just a rural enough setting that there’s not enough 

oversight to do anything about it. It’s a shame that commen sense and commen courtesy no 

longer seem to exist. 

Name:	realfast64 -	Reply
Subject:	From bad to worse news!
Date:	7/12/2019 7:30:46 PM

  You would be suprised how many in those big houses cant really afford them!  Many cash in life insurance policies take loans out on their primary residence to be able to come to the lake.  Only to find out a couple of years they really can't afford the exzuberant lake lifestyle. Few houses bought 10 years ago have the same owner today.  I feel very fortunate to have had a great neighborhood of fulltime homeowners for 18 of the last 20 years. Then with the closing of the mill and the smaller bussiness associated with the mill things changed. People moved for employment reasons and things changed. Homes sold to weekenders then 08 came and people started renting these homes to vacationers (VRBO)to make ends meet. These weekend renters and vacationers have no vested interest in our lake or area!  They bring their groceries, they dont buy clothes, or weekly necessites. The come play,PARTY, trash the islands and the lake, and go home!  I imagine this is what Tuscaloosa is trying to stop VRBO in their city. 

I too have been here since 1963, when we could venture to youngs island and see maybe 5 boats in a day. That was considered a lot of traffic. I know things change but seldom do they change for the good. Oh well enough of my crying. I did get to live in the good old days!

Name:	Timeout -	Reply
Subject:	From bad to worse news!
Date:	7/13/2019 5:25:50 PM (updated 7/13/2019 5:28:19 PM)

Yes,  Its going to take a few serious serious  accidents before something is done but an accocident is inevitable.  I have young teens 13/14 on wave runners  come within 5 feet of my dock doing 50mph on a regular basis.  They turn sharply to  spray water up onto our dock.   I throw  my hands up and they give me the bird.  At the same time I have adults with young ones come flying by within feet and all this does is teach the young ones it’s ok.  Is just disrespectful and most of all dangerous for us to even swim more than 10’ off the end of our dock.  My attorneys and insurance agents have incouraged us to Have  cameras installed as a means to prove  their negligence once they hit the dock an kill themselves.  It’s very scary for my family to be in the water.