Castle Rock boat launch will have to wait
Thursday, July 31, 2008 11:46 PM PDT
By Barbara LaBoe
Printable version
E-mail this articleCASTLE ROCK — The long-awaited boat launch here is still at least a year away, officials said recently.
Town leaders had hoped to construct the launch next month and have it ready for use this fall. Instead, permitting delays and red tape have delayed the project so long that they’ll miss the window in August that in-river work is allowed, said Dave Vorse, the city’s public works director.
That means the earliest the boat launch could be completed is the fall of 2009, a delay no one here is happy with. The delay also means the scope of the project might have to be scaled back as prices increase.
The need for the launch has long been discussed here because there’s a 23-river-mile stretch of the Cowlitz River with no designated boat access. Not only does that limit recreation opportunities, it also hinders rescue workers. Plans for the launch began in earnest several years ago after two drowning deaths.
After years of planning, city officials were thrilled in 2006 when they received the final $1 million needed to complete the $1.3 million project.
Personnel changes at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, though, meant the city had to basically start from scratch on its mitigation plans to offset the boat launch work. New officials didn’t approve of the previously agreed upon plans and new ones had to be negotiated, Vorse said.
There also were several delays as the state Department of Transportation required land use agreement releases from state agencies on the school district-donated land. Confusion among state agencies about whether such agreements even existed further delayed the work, Vorse said.
The city council has asked Vorse for updates in recent months, growing increasingly frustrated with the delays. Vorse said he’s not happy with the delays either, but he couldn’t make the state and federal agencies move any faster.
And it’s not just the council that’s concerned.
“I don’t know that a day goes by that I don’t get asked about it,” Vorse said. “It’s a very important topic to people and I wish we could be further along.”
Vorse also is concerned that the skyrocketing cost of supplies, including petroleum based plastic pipes and other materials, might mean there isn’t enough money to do all that supports originally hoped. The donated and grant money will still available but the project might have to be adjusted if supplies cost more than expected.
The launch will be located behind the North County Recreation Association sports complex near the high school and Moiser Road. Plans include two 247-foot long launches, 80 parking spaces, a picnic table and a rest room. There likely will be a use fee to help with upkeep, though construction is the main focus now.
The boat launch is being paid for with a $1 million grant from the state Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation as well as money donated from the Port of Longview and the Friends of the Cowlitz. Area contractors also have pledged donated time and equipment and the city agreed to oversee the project. The Castle Rock School District also donated the land for the project.
Vorse said if things go as expected the launch will open to the public in the fall of 2009. But, after the latest round of delays he’s learned to be only cautiously optimistic.
“We’re going to keep working diligently and get this built as quickly as we can,” he said. “In a perfect world, by September of next year we could be launching boats. But I said that last year too.”
Mr. Chinook wrote on Aug 1, 2008 2:19 AM:
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