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Kayak kiosk sees success

FAIRMONT — In spite of a delayed launch date and lots of rainy weather, the debut season for kayak and paddleboard rentals in Fairmont was successful.

“We’re pleased with the results even though we started a month later than we planned,” said Mike Katzenmeyer, president of the Fairmont Lakes Foundation, the organization that financed the watercraft and the storage kiosk located at Gomsrud Park.

Original plans were to have the kiosk open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, but arranging for insurance, connecting the security cameras and kiosk locks and getting the rental process set up through Sommer Outdoors required more time than anticipated.

“We didn’t know what to expect, but everything went decent, figuring we didn’t even get started until July 4,” said Justin Sommer, owner of Sommer Outdoors. “We averaged one rental a day, but most of that came on weekends. During the week, it was kind of slow.”

The Gomsrud kiosk holds five one-person kayaks, a two-person kayak and two paddleboards. People who want to rent the watercraft can stop by Sommer Outdoors during its regular business hours, read and sign a waiver, pay for the rental, pick up life vests and paddles and receive a numeric code to unlock the security barrier for the corresponding watercraft in the kiosk. Sommer said the process takes about 10 minutes. Renters must have a drivers license or photo ID card and be at least 18 years of age.

“The paddleboards and the two-person kayak are by far the most popular units,” Sommer said.

Both Katzenmeyer and Sommer heard comments, both good and bad, on the watercraft rental program. Because of the growing popularity of kayaking, some customers have requested expanded hours. Sommer closes his shop at 6 p.m. so all rentals must be returned by that time. Katzenmeyer noted that since the kayaks do not have lights and potentially could create a dangerous situation on the lakes after sunset, their insurance coverage prohibits nighttime rentals.

Another issue arose when smaller-framed people tried to return the kayaks to the top rack in the kiosk.

“The front end of the kayak has to be pushed in first, and then the back part,” Sommer said. “If there’s two people, it’s easy, but shorter people have a little bit of an issue getting the kayaks in the top racks by themselves. There’s really nothing we can do. I can understand the problem, but I don’t know a solution to that.”

He added that, whenever possible, he tries to rent the kayaks in the bottom racks to shorter individuals.

The demand for the two-person kayak and the two paddleboards also has generated comments.

“We don’t have enough of them. As soon as they’re rented out, they’re gone, and a lot of times, people rent them for the whole day,” Sommer said.

Fairmont Lakes Foundation members have toyed with the possibility of adding an additional kiosk with more watercraft rentals.

“We’ve talked about it,” Katzenmeyer said. “We also talked about putting in more kayak launches. It would be nice to have one at Budd Lake or Hall Lake with the kayak kiosk right there.”

The original kiosk took three years of planning, construction, arranging for insurance and coordinating a rental policy. If an additional unit is added, the time span would be considerable less because of the lessons learned the first time around.

“The Lakes Foundation, first of all, is trying to work on water quality and stewardship responsibility of people who live on the lakes and utilize the lakes. Part of that includes recreation, and that’s why this kayak project is really important to us,” Katzenmeyer said. “We’re pleased with the way it started, but it’s a work in progress. It’s a service that we’re providing that we didn’t have last year, and it’s going to get better for next year. We’re open to suggestions. We’d love to hear ways to improve it.”

Although his contract with the Lakes Foundation to rent the watercraft covers the summer months, Sommer has indicated he would continue to handle rentals during his business hours. His fall and winter hours are 3-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday. For more information, contact Sommer Outdoors at (507) 235-5225.

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