Advisory Board Supports Work On Cda Dock Application For Grant Now Goes To State Agency

A plan to replace the launches at the Third Street boat dock won approval Thursday night from the Kootenai County Waterways Advisory Board.

An application for the $97,400 grant, of which $20,000 will come from a city match, now goes to the State Parks and Recreation Department for final consideration.

The Coeur d’Alene City Council approved the same proposal at its meeting Tuesday night.

The discussion Thursday about the grant centered on whether there is a real need to replace the launches, because a proposed master plan to revitalize the downtown is suggesting the eventual closure of the Third Street boat dock.

“That is not anything that has been accepted,” said Bill Greenwood of the City Parks Department, referring to the Walker-Macy plan. “We have at least five years-plus use on the new set of launches. If something does change, we could turn them into moorage.”

The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to build a boat launch and recreational facilities on Blackwell Island. However, funding for the plan is not expected for about four years or more.

Waterways board member Ernie Simpson was the sole person to vote against the grant.

“It seems to me that we will know more in a year what the city will do with that launch,” Simpson said. “It seems wrong to spend $90,000 for something that we don’t know we will be using.”

Board member Jim Aucutt said he understood Simpson’s point, but said the improvements are needed regardless.

“I would hate to see us stop progress on anything in the lake based on some possible future use,” Aucutt said. “If something happens to the Third Street boat dock, we would still have 600 feet of docks we could use.”

Ross Walkinshaw agreed with Aucutt that the grant would not be a waste of money.

“There seems to be a very high public interest in not ever closing those down,” Walkinshaw said, referring to the downtown boat launches.

“So … I don’t see any reason to slow down.”

The grant would replace the existing boat launches and provide lighting. The light shades would be placed on existing piles, Greenwood said.

The city is also exploring a mooring fee for boaters who tie up to the docks overnight.

Currently, boaters can use the city docks for free for six hours before they are asked to leave. That would not change.

“Some boaters we’ve talked to would like to come in and stay the night,” Greenwood said.

Those fees would be used for five years to pay off a loan that was taken out to fix the sea wall at the launch. Those fees would then be used for maintenance, Greenwood said.