LAKE ISABELLA -- Residents voiced their displeasure Tuesday night to Forest Service officials over proposed fee increases at the lake.

At a town hall meeting held by the Lake Isabella-Bodfish Proterty Owners' Association, residents and the Forest Service discussed new fees and fee increases for recreational use of Lake Isabella.

Some of the residents said they pay enough in taxes to justify them not paying fees to use the lake.

The Forest Service is proposing to double the daily fee for vehicles that recreate at several areas along the lake from $5 to $10, and increasing the annual fee from $35 to $50.

Currently, the pay sites are at the auxiliary dam, Old Isabella Road and the Southfork recreation area, designated as high-impact recreation areas. Other sites along the lake are being considered for fee collection, according to Brenda Ehmann of the Forest Service.

Also included in the proposal is the idea to collect fees year-round. Currently they are collected from May to September.

The Forest Service would also like to make people buy passes through a vendor or the Internet, instead of paying at a machine or at a booth.

Should the changes be approved, Ehmann said it could take between 8 and 12 months to implement them.