The Bass Lake Beach will soon offer kayak rentals. The Starke County Park Board Tuesday approved the purchase of six kayaks from Tractor Supply Company, thanks to a $1,500 grant from the Starke County Community Foundation.
Board Member Kathy Norem says the grant was specifically for projects that improve the health of the community. “So I applied for kayaks to be rented at the Bass Lake Beach with all the supporting documentation of how good they were for the body and how good the exercise was and the peace of mind and ‘I’d love to kayak around the lake a little and listen to the birds and hear the fish,’” Norem told the rest of the board. “So much to my pleasure, they funded the entire $1,500.”
It’ll cost $10 an hour to rent a kayak, which is in line with the fees at the Culver Beach. Life jackets will be required, and the park board is looking into the possibility of offering them for sale.
Board members will work with the Starke County Auditor’s Office to set up the capability of accepting credit cards, to make it easier for the county to be reimbursed for lost or stolen paddles or kayaks. Norem hoped to be able to launch the kayak rental program later this summer.
