Permanent Hydroplane Ban Sought Separate City, County Initiatives To Be Announced Wednesday

Hydroplane racing opponents are starting initiatives to permanently ban the boats at all Kootenai County lakes, just days after promoters gave up efforts to bring racing back to Lake Coeur d’Alene this year.

The Protect Our Lake Association is targeting both Coeur d’Alene and county voters with separate initiatives. Scott Reed, an attorney, didn’t want to share further details until a press conference Wednesday morning.

He recently wrote the City Council, warning that they faced serious liability, as a self-insured city, if police got crossways with someone during the races and a civil rights lawsuit resulted. Hydroplane racing ended a decade-long run in 1968 after citizens and law enforcement tired of unruly spectators.

Protect Our Lakes was formed hastily a few weeks ago to fight a proposal to bring back the jet-powered racing boats. Under state law, they will need to gather 3,199 signatures for the city initiative. That’s 20 percent of the people registered to vote in the last city general election - November 1995.

After the signatures are verified, the City Council has 30 days to adopt the measure as an ordinance. If that doesn’t happen, a special election is called.

The county process works a little differently. It requires signatures from 20 percent of the people who voted in the last general election. That means race opponents need 6,056 signatures.

But the measure goes directly to the ballot. It does not go through the county commission, Reed said.

Last November, on Election Day, promoters arrived in Coeur d’Alene with a Spokane-based racing boat for a snowy demonstration.

The boat burped and died less than halfway through its first demonstration lap, but the effort to bring back the races almost went the full course.

The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce studied the issue and a couple of businessmen formed the Diamond Cup Association to revive the races.

John McGruder, who worked exhaustively for two months on the project, had little to say about the initiatives. “It’s a moot point - I pulled the program,” McGruder said. “It’s behind me.”

“It’s amazing they want to ban an item forever,” he added. “They can do whatever they want - it’s their right.”

Mayor Al Hassell, who wasn’t surprised to see the issue surface again so soon, agrees with McGruder’s final point.

“It’s a perfectly legitimate way for them to have their feelings known,” he said.

, DataTimes