SHUTESBURY — A collision involving two boats that injured one person on Lake Wyola in June is prompting officials to consider forming a committee to examine overhauling a bylaw that governs use of the 128-acre site.

But with the Selectboard proposing a seven-member Lake Wyola Boating and Safety Review Committee to evaluate potential changes to the “Watercraft and Persons Using Lake Wyola” bylaw, and possibly also looking at overall management of the site, some who live at the lake, both year-round and seasonally, are worried about whether they will have adequate input.

At a Selectboard meeting in late July, the meeting room at Town Hall was filled with residents, along with others participating via livestream, to get information about the rationale for studying the bylaw, which was last updated a decade ago.

“All in all, compared to other bodies of water … we have a very safe body of water,” said George Abdow, a North Laurel Drive resident who serves as president of the Lake Wyola Association.

Abdow said an objective is to have a better lake, and addressing and reviewing the bylaw every five to 10 years is good practice. But he said the Lake Wyola Association already does self-patrolling of the bylaw and is in regular contact with neighbors.

The town’s emergency management team, which includes Police Chief Kristin Burgess, though, is concerned after a June 15 incident in which Environmental Police said that around 7:38 p.m., one person was injured in the boat crash. One of the boat operators is being summoned to Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown on unspecified charges.

The proposed committee has an objective to “to identify specific actions that can be taken by the town of Shutesbury, the Lake Wyola Association, private citizens, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to address safety issues at Lake Wyola.”

An accompanying summary states “Lake Wyola has seen an increase in use over the past 20 years by both boaters and swimmers. The lake has become a destination for people from out of town and has also seen much more activity since the opening of the state park beach. The public boat launch on Randall Road is available to the public at large. Recreational use of the lake has increased with many more swimmers, faster boats, paddleboarders, kayaks and canoes.”

Burgess explained to those in attendance that, following the June 15 incident, it would be irresponsible not to look at the entirety of the bylaw and seek ways to improve.

“Any time a significant event happens, which it did, it’s irresponsible to not look at the entirety of things to see if there’s any place for improvement,” Burgess said.

Selectboard member Eric Stocker said the lake is a resource for people in town and from other communities.

“It’s in the town’s best interest to protect that resource,” Stocker said, adding that his general sense is that it’s a place people love.

A request for people to look at the bylaw, he added, is not to look at banning motorboats. Personal watercraft, such as jet skis, were banned in 1996.

“It’s obvious to me, obvious to the Police Department, obvious to people, that we have a problem,” Stocker said. “Something happened where someone was very seriously injured and could have been killed.”

Stocker said the goal is to improve safety for everyone.

“We all have to learn how to play in the sandbox so no one gets hurt,” Stocker said.

In a interview Tuesday, Burgess said she will be meeting with the Lake Wyola Association on Saturday to explain the reasoning for looking at the bylaws and understanding the divergent opinions about how best to maintain safety.

“People who are coming to the lake need to understand the bylaws and the expectations,” Burgess said. “It’s about creating a space that’s safe for everyone and taking a look at everything.”

Burgess said she is interested in getting a police boat back up and running to do periodic patrols.

The Selectboard’s interest is also in making the lake a safe place. Rita Farrell, who co-chairs the board, said a number of people have contacted her and Town Hall, but didn’t feel safe coming forward with concerns about what they are seeing, even as the town’s emergency management team has observed problems.

Abdow said the Lake Wyola Association is worried about the role it will play with the review committee, having put forward a pool of 26 people who are interested in serving, but then being told the committee won’t be formed until later in August.

“It’s a little bit weird,” Abdow said this week. “That committee will be making rules for the people who live on the lake and make the lake what it is.”

Any changes proposed to the bylaw, which includes rules setting the speed limit at 30 mph, requiring motorboats to go counterclockwise, limiting water skiing to daylight hours and requiring swimmers to be accompanied by a boat when 150 feet or more from shore, would have to be adopted by Town Meeting voters.

“There is no predetermined outcome. Our goal is to give a voice to the stakeholders,” Farrell said.

Charlene Galenski of Wyola Drive told the Selectboard that the Lake Wyola Association by itself could encourage better safety. Galenski said she recently saw a woman swimming by herself too far out, without a buoy or an accompanying boat.

“Some of the problem is that some of the people coming in ... are not reading the rules or stopping to read them,” Galenski said.

According to a draft of the work plan, the committee would have four tasks, including reviewing the current bylaw and recommending changes, reviewing how the bylaw is enforced and recommending changes, identifying ways to educate the public about the bylaw and making final recommendations.

The seven members would include people from community organizations and Shutesbury residents “who enjoy the lake but do not necessarily live on the lake,” with one representative from the Fire Department and one from the Police Department to serve as ad hoc members. The state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation will also be contacted to identify a person to serve as a resource to this committee.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.