The decision came after a public hearing where advocates and opponents of a study spoke. One opponent of the proposal even told commissioners he was in favor of a study as there have been only two minor mishaps in the cove over the past 25 years.

“Lake Gaston has 20,000 acres of water,” Francis Kelly told commissioners. “We're asking for a small portion to be covered by the no wake zone.”

Kelly told the board there are a lot of boat piers in the area of the Timber Creek subdivision where the host of complaints are being lodged. “It's really a public safety concern. They don't need to come down that narrow channel.”

Commissioner Vernon Bryant wanted to know what has changed since the last time the group appeared before the board a few years ago.

George Lex, a Cross Creek resident, answered the question during the hearing by saying, “I think the biggest change is the addition of more boat slips, which increases the number of boats in a cove.”

Lex called the effort of some of the Timber Creek residents to enact a no wake zone, “An effort to privatize a piece of a public lake. I think everyone needs to be responsible. They're trying to dictate policy to the general public.”

Charles Hines told commissioners a personal watercraft hit his boat dock while a grandchild was on it.

Jim Hudson, however, said, “I love using the lake as it was made to be available to us.”

Hudson said the cove is long and wide enough where it makes a perfect place to teach children how to waterski. “I love to share the lake with friends and neighbors. The best place to teach skiing is in a shallow cove. You can't pull up a kneeboard without making a wake.”

Jay Baker, who teaches wake surfing on Lake Gaston, told the board, “Where are the accident reports for Poe Creek? If it is such a dangerous creek surely there are stacks of reports. Over 25 years there have only been two minor accidents in this creek.”

Baker said proponents of the no wake zone are trying to deny others the opportunity to use that portion of the lake. “So long as they get what they want, nothing else matters. We are here today because of Timber Creek's private community piers and boat ramp. They want a parking lot for their boats and if it means restricting other's freedom to enjoy the lake, so be it.”

Even though he requested the study be done because after 25 years there have only been two minor mishaps, he said, “The precedent that would be set by enacting a no wake zone on Poe Creek would have unintended consequences all over Lake Gaston. If you turn over a section of public waterway to a private group of citizens based on the pretext of safety, there will be no part of the lake spared from the same fate. People will be lined up waiting to get their piece of the lake to suit what they think is the correct recreational use for Lake Gaston.”

William Everette said it is simply a safety issue, while Mary Anne Whittemore told the board, “You can sit on my dock and be splashed. All we're asking today is for the Wildlife Resources Commission to do a safety study.”

Sylvia Austin explained the group was not asking for a no wake zone for the entire creek, but said there were about eight blind spots residents were concerned about. “We're trying to rise above this spitting contest. The privatization of Poe Creek has never come up. Safety has always been an issue.”