LAKE PLACID - The town of North Elba is planning to set aside funds in next year's town budget to help protect Lake Placid from invasive species.

Supervisor Roby Politi said the town has tentatively budgeted $15,000 for the Lake Placid Shore Owners Association, which would use the money to pay a steward to staff the boat launches on the lake and inspect boats and trailers for invasive plants. Last year the association only received $1,000 from the town.

"Lake Placid is one of our most important resources, and I think it's imperative we try to maintain the quality of that lake," Politi said Thursday, a day after meeting with Shore Owners Association President Mark Wilson and village of Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall. "It's what we're named for. We need to take care of it."

Politi stressed, however, that the funding commitment isn't final.

"You never know what's committed until the last couple days of the budget process," he said. "We do intend to do our best to include their request within the budget."

If the funding is allocated, Wilson said it will be helpful but won't cover the total cost of providing stewards at both the state Department of Environmental Conservation boat launch at the Lake Placid Marina and the village boat launch on Victor Herbert Road. Wilson estimates it will cost $48,000 to have complete coverage - eight hours a day, seven days a week for 15 weeks - at both launches using stewards from the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith's College.

"Obviously we're going to have to scramble to get enough money from whatever source we can," he said. "We're going to write grant applications and go to every possible public, private or nonprofit source we can find."

Wilson doesn't want the village boat launch to be closed entirely, but he said the village board should consider only allowing canoes and kayaks, boats that don't need trailers, to access the lake there.

"The trailers are the chief vector of this invasive, and the boats that are carried on trailers; push all the trailer traffic to the DEC launch," he said.

Wilson has been pressing the village to take some kind of action since the discovery of variable-leaf milfoil in Paradox Bay in June. The invasive was removed at the association's expense, but Wilson said further stewardship is needed to prevent future problems.

He plans to ask for a public forum to discuss the issue.

"I know there is quite a move to keep the village launch open," he said. "I'd be perfectly willing to have an open forum where we can discuss our side, they can bring their side to the table, and the village can decide what is a responsible action to take."

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Contact Chris Knight at 891-2600 ext. 24 or cknight@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.