Aging Boyer marina poses burden for port

In a few years, the marina section of Boyer Park must be replaced. Port Director Joe Poire told Port of Whitman Commissioners at the April 3 meeting that the biggest problem is the marina docks which are now 40 years old. They are deteriorating and the pilings are coming loose.

Port commissioners hope that the port can afford to replace the docks when the time comes.

The marina was originally built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1970s. The port leases the park and marina from the corps.

The first step for the port will be to apply to the state for a feasibility study which port officials estimate to be a seven-month process.

“This will probably be a $2 to $3 million job on the marina,” Poire told commissioners. “I don’t see us replacing all the docks. There’s no-cost benefit analysis on this.”

“This will truly be a public service,” Commissioner Tom Kammerzell said.

After the feasibility study, a potential building study will be done.

The entire process will take five to eight years, depending on the required permitting process.

Poire said the Boyer marina is only 15 percent full now, but it will fill to 70 to 80 percent of capacity on weekends as the weather improves. He said on July 4, summer weekends and on holidays, the marina is usually packed.

Port commissioners also noted that Central Ferry and Lyons Ferry parks are now closed to the public.

According to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public affairs specialist Gina Baltrusch, when the dams were built by the corps, the corps was not obligated to provide any specific amount of public access to the river. She also said public access is defined as a boat launch, not a park.

Baltrusch said the state originally leased park property from the corps, but the state relinquished the leases for Central Ferry and Lyons Ferry parks.

“Central Ferry and Lyons Ferry were always not profitable, probably because they were so far away from everything,” she said.

On the other hand, Chief Timothy Park, about four miles from Clarkston and Lewiston, has done well, mainly because of its proximity to a larger population base, Baltrusch said.

Baltrusch said that Central Ferry Park was opened in 1976 by the state parks system and its last year of operation was 2010. She said the park saw its peak visitation May through September, with its last count in 2010 at 18,341 visitors. She added the corps has no plans to re-establish it as a park and the corps changed the land classification to a habitat-only area. The 650-acre area is open for hunting.

Baltrusch said Lyons Ferry, opened in 1973, also closed in 2010. However, the park may reopen.

“Currently that state has expressed interest in leasing the land again,” Baltrusch said. “We are in negotiations with the state about a lease.”

Baltrusch said the state is interested in re-opening the boat launch, beach, day-use area, campground and administration areas that would be used for ground equipment storage. She doubts if the park could open by this summer.

“I hope everything goes well with the state,” she said.

Virginia Painter of the state parks communications department said she is hopeful Lyons Ferry will re-open in 2015. She said initially the park will be day-use only, but as the park is refurbished, she said campsites will again be available.

Baltrusch said that on Lake Bryan, the 37-mile reservoir above Little Goose Dam, there are now six public access points, and on Lower Granite Lake, above Lower Granite Dam to Chief Timothy Park, there are five public access points, with several more upstream toward Lewiston and Clarkston.

“We do have an obligation to provide public access, meaning boat launches,” she said.

Baltrusch said she believes public use has increased at the parks along the river.

“When people’s recreation budgets shrink, people use the parks,” she said.

Baltrusch said the corps could charge park fees but they have discovered that it’s more cost efficient not to charge park user fees because of manpower needed to collect fees.

Lyons Ferry Marina

While Lyons Ferry Park closed, a site across the river is doing very well.

Lyons Ferry Marina, leased by the Port of Columbia County, is operated by a Kampground of America franchisee.

According to port Auditor Amber Phymmey, the port took over the site in the late 1970s. The current concessionaires have had it five years, she said.

Adjacent to the marina is the full service campground that offers 18 full hookups, level, paved campsites for RV camping and 40 campsites for tent camping on the lawns. The marina also offers a restaurant. The campground is open from the end of March through October.

Lyons Ferry Park

Lyons Ferry Park was operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is located at the confluence of the Snake and Palouse rivers, approximately 18 miles south of Wastucna. The park is now closed, but the state wants to again lease the park from the corps and the park hopefully will reopen in 2015.

The day use areas at Lyons Ferry Park had acres of lawns, landscaping and numerous mature shade trees. It also offered a protected swimming beach, boat launches and moorages, restrooms, barbecues and picnic tables.

Central Ferry Park

Central Ferry Park, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was a 185-acre park that offered a day use area, full camping services, and several other activities.

There were 69 sites, 60 with full hookups, eight tent sites.

Chief Timothy Park

The former state park is now operated by a private concessionaire.

Chief Timothy Park and day use area is on an island in the Snake River approximately four miles west of Clarkston.

The park has a campground and day use area, and offers a boat launch, multiple docks, waterskiing, fishing, sandy beaches, sailing, swimming, horseshoes and hiking trails.