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Home My WebLink AboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-02-13, Page 7Wednesday, February 13, 2013 • Lakeshore Advance 7 Fighting forces of nature in the Great Lakes Uenliiil; wiili ilri•.�1l;ii�A Lynda HIllman-Rapley Lakeshore Advance Brent Kittmer, Lnmbton Shores Director of Community Services apologized to council for not having exact costs for the local harbours, but did want them to be aware of the chal- lenges they are facing with the historic low water issues. "'she current low water condi- 1 In Lake Huron has resulted it ower than normal water level in the (rand Bend har- bour. As a result, the water level in the Middle of the river at the municipal boat !Munch is to the point where large vessels will not be able to safely launch (a minimum requirement of 4 feet of depth is needed for large ves- sels). In addition, staff has r'ece'ived reports from boaters that they had issues hitting the bottom at the municipal gas docks during the 2012 boating season," he explained. To correct this Issue staff is proposing to perforin spot dredging in the harbour at the location of the municipal launch ramp, and the munici- pal gas dock. Should this work not be completed, it is expected that the municipal boat launch will not be operable during the 2013 boating season for large vessels unless the water level in tile river rises before the start of the season. Unfortunately the U.S. Artily Corps of Engineers is forecasting that the water level will to continue to decrease throughout the spring. ' esently, the operating bl ; t (foes not include funds fo is work as it is not a regu- lar occurrence for the Grand Bend Harbour, and this work was not forecasted as needed when the budget was prepared In October 2012. Additional dredging in the har- bour should be cost shared with the other benefitting users so that the financial burden is not fully borne by the municipality. In this instance, the municipal- ity is the primary benefactor of the work in these specific loca- tions as revenue is collected for boat launch use, and the gas docks are a part of the core marina operations. As a result, the costs of this proposed work should be borne fully by 141111h- 1011 Short's. hittlnt'r said a portion of the spot dredging work proposed for the Grand (Bend harbour qualifies for funding from the (1 (11'a1 1) t'pal'1111('111 UI Fisheries and Oceans as the location of the dredging will he on Federal lands. Staff has con- tacted the l)1O and they will cost share the work completed on Federal property on a 50/50 basis to a maximum Fed- eral contribution of $40,000, 1)FO already contributes to the dredging work completed for the harbour mouth, and have indicated that they will consider funding the contract amend- ment with Mitoi works to bring their total contribution to $28,403 111 2013. This would leave approximately $1 1,500 in 1)1:0 funds available for spot dredging work; however the municipality must match the I)FO funds. "The challenge is to find the necessary municipal funding to complete the work in 2013, and several considerations can be made. First, the operating budget for the Port Franks 11ar- hour includes $44,433 for spot dredging. The actual cost incurred each year fluctuates dependent upon the amount of dredging that is required to be completed once the harbour soundine.s have been I)t'rforml'll. Should the actual cost of spot dredging in Port Franks he less than the $44,433 that is budgeted any leftover funds could be reallocated to the (;rand Bend work. Any remaining costs could then he funded from reserve, and funds could be included 111 the 2014 to repay the reserve," he. said adding, "Alternatively, Council could consider amending the operat- ing budget to include funds for this work on an emergency basis similar to the $100,000 dredging approved for the Port Franks ice management work. The challenge with this approach is that a budget for the work will not he known until dredging quantities can I)t' esti- in ated when sounding of the harbour is completed. " Kinsler also suggested coun- cil could consider increasing the Iaunclt ramp fee to generate revenue to offset the cost of any dredging work should it be approved. The current fee schedule sets a variety of fees including single launch, com- mercial users, and season's passes. Grand Bend and Port Franks in 2012 launch ramp fees generated $22,135.79 in revenue to help offset the operating costs of the Grand Bend !fathom. 'Ihc primary consideration to be made is what the demand elasticity is for use of the launch ramp in rela- tion to price. Presently there is no information available in this regard, but it is possible that launch ramp usage may decrease in response to a price increase thus negatively affecting revenue. Conversely, Grand Bend is a primary boating location and there may lie no effect on demand in response to a marginal price increase. Councilor Doug Bonesteel said they were caught between a rock and a hard place and (1i(1 not want to drive har- bour business away. Kittmer said a price increase may deter business and they (11(I not want to have a reputation of having an in-opratable boat launch. Councilor Martin Underwood said maybe it is time to look at long terns and they have to deckle if fort Franks and Grand Bend are still viable har- bours instead of pouring millions of dollars to dredging. 1 le said maybe in a decade things will be different. Mayor Bill Weber said the trend is usually two years. Kittmer said they are fighting forces of nature, "we will have to work with what we have," he said. Councilor Lorie Scott said they have to slake sure the people know they are concerned and looking at all the options. Kittmer was asked if $10,000 was enough to do the job and he said it was plenty. Scott wanted to add $15,000 to that amount but Kittmer said the $10,000 would work and if they found that levels only three feet, he WO(1l(1 come back and recommend they do nothing. The Choice is Clear Mark 1Ieinrrirh Lifetime WATER PRODUCTS CANADA INC. Mark Heimrich & Associates • Since 1986 Drinking Water Systems & Complete Water Treatment • Distillers • Reverse Osmosis • Ultra Violet • Softeners M IMO • Iron & Sulphur Filters • Chlorine Filters & More! BBB \\ \\ \\ .1 iI L'l I lilt'\V L1CI'.Ca 519.2 35-0699 .� c X41111n �1. ��'I� r 1-800-529-9292 \I.i.1,•h,.ad. 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