Following weeks of choppy waters brewing between government staffers and some lake users, Travis County Parks department personnel believe they have found a way to keep swimmers safe and boaters motoring at Lake Travis' Hippie Hollow.

During the Feb. 27 public meeting at the Travis County West Service Center, Travis County Parks Director Charles Bergh and District Park Manager Dan Perry agreed to relocate the buoys, which currently partition off a shoreline section of the clothing-optional lake area for swimmers and prevent boaters from anchoring down the length of the hollow.

Earlier this month, the swim buoys at Hippie Hollow were extended from one end of the park to the other, an action which prohibited any boats from reaching or nearing the Hippie Hollow shore and anchoring safely, said Will Coombes, a Friends of the Hollow community representative, at the meeting.

On its webpage, Friends of the Hollow states that it consists of "a group of over 900 boaters, swimmers and beach-goers interested in maintaining, promoting and enjoying Hippie Hollow."

Perry said that the original buoy line permit dates back to September 27, 1976. In the late 1990s, the line was moved westward to protect neighborhood water lines. In 2010, the same buoy line was extended eastward but still left open a small cove and a portion of the Hippie Hollow shoreline, which would allow boaters to safely anchor, Perry said.

Around Feb. 7 of this year, Travis County Parks staff returned the buoys to the permit line of 1976. Perry said that safety was the motive to move the buoys back to their original position.

"The primary reason for the original configuration is swimmers' safety, to separate propellers from the people," said Perry.

"The park has historically been a swimming park, and we felt an obligation to protect our swimmers," said Dan Chapman, chief park ranger for Travis County. "We may have gone about it in a clumsy way, but we may not have known who to communicate with."

Perry said that the buoys will be moved to the agreed-upon position some time during the next two to three weeks, weather permitting.