There are a number of items missing from the public boat launch, which were in the original Request For Proposal (RFP) with Heavy Metal Marine in 2009. The proposal called for concrete stairs to the beach, an ancillary building and a fish cleaning station. The grand total of the November 2010 contract for the boat launch was for $1,099,197.22.
In the initial Partnering Agreement with Prestige it was only stated that the district will develop a boat launch, no other specifics were listed. In 2010 the district entered into an agreement with HMM. The binding contract on December 14, 2010 did not include the stairs, ancillary building or the fish cleaning station.
Building the stairs would cost $7,500 and there was no price estimate on how much the ancillary building and fish cleaning station would cost. It was recommended that these items be paid for through the council contingency fund with a cap of $10,000.
The whole issue of the boat launch brought a number of comments from council, none of them supportive of further work at the boat launch.
Councillors Herb Haldane said he did not support this at all.
“Less than one per cent of the population goes fishing,” he said. “People who go fishing should pay for it.” He also said concrete stairs are not allowed below the high tide mark so there was no point in building them.
Coun. Bev Berger stated the “taxpayers have paid an awful lot.”
Coun. Maja Tait said this should be wrapped up and if there was a fish cleaning station then someone would have to clean it. She also did not see what an ancillary building would be used for.
Coun. Kevin Pearson stated, “Without a careful plan in place, I don’t think we should spend any more money there.”
And the decision by council was to do nothing further and spend no more money at the public boat launch.