Old Lyme — The Rogers Lake Authority voted unanimously during an eight-minute virtual meeting Monday to table until September a proposed ordinance that would change traffic patterns for watercraft on the lake.

Twenty residents sat in front of a projector at the Rogers Lake West Shore Association clubhouse to view the meeting via Zoom. The group was one of 20 users that logged in to the virtual special meeting.

The special meeting was called in response to a petition and strong public opposition at an April 19 meeting to implementing four slow-no wake zones.

"At our last meeting we received a petition with over 160 signatures," began Dennis Overfield, co-chair of the Rogers Lake Authority. "I feel that the Rogers Lake Authority needs to see how they want to proceed. We certainly owe this a response."

The six members of the authority agreed to stop pursuing the proposed ordinance discussed at the April 19 meeting until they have more data, address public concerns and discuss recommendations from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

"DEEP has told us multiple times that we have safety issues in that area," Overfield said after the meeting. "If we don't do anything, what's our liability if there should be a serious accident on the lake?"

Overfield said the authority had discussions with both Lyme and Old Lyme selectmen — the lake spans the border between the two towns — but has received no definitive answer to that question.

When questioned by The Day earlier this month about safety concerns at the lake, Yolanda Cooley, a specialist in DEEP's boating division, said, "We rely on local knowledge of the lake authority. I'd have no knowledge of what the lake activities are."

Data to inform ordinance decisions will be collected via lake patrol this summer, according to Overfield. "We are going to require a log of interactions with the public and residents on the lake," he said. "It's got to be data-driven."

Data collection and lake patrol were hot topics of conversation in the West Shore Association clubhouse as residents shared ideas after the meeting.

"If they want to do this research, can we have a representative with them while the research is going on?" said Tim King, a lake resident concerned about the validity of data.

Questions regarding the lake patrol's efficacy in past seasons had some residents coming up with their own solutions. Elizabeth and Kevin Penfield, whose family has lived on the lake for over 95 years, offered an idea.

"We can't rely on patrol boat personnel to educate people. How about we do it in a nice, professional manner? We have until September to show them, 'Look, nothing happened,'" Elizabeth Penfield said.

Open lake patrol positions are posted on the authority's webpage, at bit.ly/rogerslake on Old Lyme's town website, and the authority at its April 19 meeting discussed hiring three to four people for this coming season. A list of requirements for applicants includes having a State of Connecticut Safe Boating Certification, as well as being "willing and able to promote, monitor and maintain safety of all users utilizing Rogers Lake."

According to Overfield, only one lake patrol employee from last year is being rehired.

David Evers, president of West Shore Association, had served the petition to the Rogers Lake Authority last week and hosted Monday's Zoom gathering.

"I'd like to thank everybody for all their support on this," he said to the group. "We need to stay vigilant on this and keep people up to date. We need people at those meetings."

The next Rogers Lake Authority meeting will be on May 11.