City to amend boat ramp policy

ALBANY, Ga. — In response to citizen complaints and new laws passed by the Georgia General Assembly, the city of Albany will likely amend its parks ordinance to allow the use of its boat ramps by licensed hunters and fishermen outside of normal business hours.

Recreation and Parks Director Suzanne Davis presented the proposed change to the city’s ordinance at a Tuesday Albany City Commission meeting.

According to Davis, the change is meant to allow people who would otherwise be hunting or fishing legally to be in compliance with city codes.

“There are some game, like alligator, that people hunt at night, and people often like to fish at night,” Davis said. “So what we’re asking is that the commission allow people who have gone through the permitting process to be able to have access to the river through our boat ramps.”

The change specifically would allow people who hunt and fish and who have licenses to have access to the boat ramps during the 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. window when they are normally closed to the public.

Ward II Commissioner Dorothy Hubbard said Tuesday that she had received complaints from constituents about being questioned by police for being at the boat ramps after hours when they were there legitimately.

“The police officers are doing their jobs, but these people should be allowed to fish or hunt if it’s allowed by the state,” Hubbard said.

The state of Georgia recently sanctioned alligator hunting during certain times of the year and has experienced a boon in the number of permit applications, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources website.

According to the DNR’s “Guide to Alligator Hunting,” in 2010 the season ran from Sept. 4 to Oct. 3, and licensed hunters could go after the alligators “during the day or the night.”

The commission will finalize the decision at its night meeting on May 24.