Starting on Labor Day weekend, Mauch Chunk Lake Park may restrict out-of-county visitors to those holding season passes.

The proposal surfaced at a public meeting Friday of the Carbon County Parks And Recreation Commission.

Commission members, along with county Commissioner Chris Lukasevich, discussed the impact of the recent influx of people from the Lehigh Valley and other areas overwhelming the lake when the state lake park at Beltzville closes due to overcrowding.

July 3 was one such instance. The park had to be closed at 12:30 p.m.

“The earlier Beltzville closes, the worse it is,” said Park Director Dave Horvath. “They’re closing more frequently than they used to. It’s good for them, but it impacts us negatively.”

Beltzville, frequently closed due to overcrowding, closed at 8:30 a.m. on July 3. On July 4, they closed at 6:45 a.m.

Horvath said he immediately started calling staff to come in early.

“It takes a little bit of time for them to get to us, but when they do, they hit us, they hit us hard and heavy,” he said.

Lukasevich said fire police and park rangers at Beltzville have been redirecting people to Mauch Chunk Lake Park. He said the county had an agreement with them to not do that during the pandemic, and that agreement needs to be revisited.

“The base problem is the number of individuals that are coming in and overwhelming what can be supported,” Lukasevich said.

He asked if the commission would be one to do a “pilot weekend, Labor Day weekend, during which the park would limit access to county residents and season pass holders.

“There would not be a daily admission to non-county residents,” he said.

Commission members favored the idea.

Lukasevich said the county solicitor has reviewed the proposal.

“I am really concerned about the direction we’re going,” he said.

Lukasevich also wants better enforcement of the rules, citing such violations as playing loud music, disruptive behavior, and disregarding lifeguards’ instructions.

“What you tolerate is your standard,” he said. “You have to get them on everything. Citations, max fines. Turn down the music or get out of the park.”

“It’s about enforcing what we have on the books.” Lukasevich said.

Park rangers’ presence tends to encourage better behavior, said Horvath.

Horvath recalled a recent situation where visitors were playing music through a loudspeaker so they could hear it while they were swimming. They came out of the water when they saw him, and he told them to not do that or “they’ll be out.”

Pop-up canopies are another issue, because they block officials’ site line to the beach, he said.

Visitors who break the rules are given a copy of them and warned to not violate them.