|
|
|
New docks for the Rock Point Boat Launch |
|
July 29, 2015 |
by McKenzie MacDonald
Boundary County’s Rock Point boat launch
(located on the dike road along the river beyond
the Fairgrounds) provides this community with a
place for all sorts of outdoor activities,
including boating and fishing. The problem? The
docks at this launch are twenty years old and
there are concerns about safety issues. Due to their
width of eight feet, these docks are unstable.
In addition, the pilings are too short for the
high water levels that are often experienced.
High water levels have actually pushed the docks
over the pilings at times over the past five
years. In a word, these docks have outlived
themselves and have reached their “saturation
point,” said Vern Wilson, the chair of the
Boundary County Waterways Board.
In January, Mike Naumann, a Waterways Board
member, brought this issue to the County
Commissioners and was equipped with a plan that
would provide a solution to this problem:
replace every piece of dock at the boat launch.
To fund this project, the Waterways Board
applied for a grant through Idaho Parks and
Recreation. The money that comes in from that
grant will be matched using funds from Boundary
County’s vessel account. This vessel account
consists of money that was collected here in the
county. When community members register their
boats or buy fuel for their boats, a percentage
of that money is dispersed back to the county's
vessel fund for the maintenance and care of our
waterways.
 At
the January Commissioners’ meeting, it was
determined that the funds for this project would
be dispersed in June, and that the project would
be taking place shortly thereafter. However, to
find a company that will construct these docks,
the Waterways Board is currently having to go
through the bidding process again, due to the
way the bids were originally written. A request
for bids has now been annonced. These bids must
be submitted by August 1. Once the bids are
collected, the County Commissioners will
consider them and then will announce the company
to be awarded the project shortly thereafter.
After that, the Waterways Board would like to
get the project started as soon as possible.
Mr. Wilson and the Waterways Board are, as
always, very concerned about people’s safety on
and around the water. They want to provide “a
safe, healthy atmosphere for everybody,” said
Mr. Wilson. “We like to keep the boating public
safe.” Toward this end, the Board works to
provide educational opportunities to the people
of this community. These opportunities help our
county in many ways. “They give our boating
public knowledge they didn’t have before,” said
Mr. Wilson. Education like this also looks good
when the Board goes to apply for grants. While
safety on the water itself is important, being
safe around the water is equally important. It
is for this reason that so much work will be
done on these new docks at the boat launch.
“As always, we are a county board and we welcome
community input,” said Mr. Wilson. They welcome
any questions that anyone may have. Each
Waterways Board member is a volunteer and works
hard to maintain this community’s waterways and
docks so that everyone can continue to enjoy the
beautiful waters Bonners Ferry has to offer. |
|
|
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
