By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Would the Great Bend community make use of a kayak and paddleboard rental service at local lakes? That was the question presented to the Great Bend Recreation Commission Board Monday.
For an $18,000 activation fee, a company would provide four kayaks or a combination of kayaks and paddleboards. Great Bend Rec Director Chris Umphres said lockers would be installed near Veterans Lake or Stone Lake where citizens could rent the devices for a certain period of time.
"It's pretty pricey I think for just that, but a lot of people can't afford kayaks and paddleboards," said Umphres. "If you throw it up there for an hour for $5 or $10. I don't know if it's something the community would want."
The rental service would work similar to how the scooter rental program in Great Bend operated. Customers would use the online application to provide their credit card information and check out a kayak or paddleboard. The vendor, Rent.Fun, would supply the lifejackets. The Rec could set the fees for usage and split the revenue with the rental company.
Rent.Fun offered a market rate fee structure of $25 for a two-hour rental or $75 for an annual pass (unlimited two-hour rentals).
Umphres noted the City of Great Bend would have to sign off on the idea. The city’s quality of life sales tax funded a kayak and canoe launcher at Stone Lake which helps riders get in and out of the water.
"With the quality of life projects that the city is doing, they had the kayak launcher," said Umphres. "That's kind of what stemmed some of this. They have that, but you have to have your own kayak and lug it from your car all the way down there. If this is placed near the water, it would be easy for people to use it."
The Rec Commission Board will consider the proposal and gauge the public’s interest in the service.