Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Developers of the Edgewater RV Resort and Marina are waiting on the Corps of Engineers to determine when a public hearing will be held on their proposal to create a marina on the west end of Foster Lake.
Reponding to questions and concerns voiced in recent letters to the editor published in The New Era, Steve Leith, one of the partners in the project, said the schedule is entirely in Corps officials’ hands. The Edgewater project includes condominiums facing the lake at the corner of 60th Avenue and Highway 20, and the new 45-space RV park.
He noted that various departments with in the Corps are involved in evaluating the application to build the marina, which would include up to 160 slips running from the condominiums about 100 yards toward the dam and extending about 100 yards into the lake.
He noted that the Corps is working on a variety of projects, including proposed natural gas facilities along the Columbia River and a proposed bridge that would connect Portland to Vancouver, Wash. The marina project is not the Corps’ highest priority, he said.
“We’re frustrated that we haven’t been able to stay on schedule,” he said, adding that their plan was to build the marina this winter if the Corps issues them a permit. “People are wondering when the public meeting is. So are we.”
Kat Beal, an environmental stewardship supervisor at the Corps’ Fern Ridge office, is one of those working on the application.
“We are currently preparing a draft environmental assessment for construction and operation of the marina,” she said, adding that the original goal was to have the draft completed and to hold a public hearing by early August.
“The time line has slipped because of some issues,” she said.
The draft will still be released, she said, and a 30-day comment period will follow, during which those interested in the marina issue will have an opportunity to communicate their opinions.
“Folks will have plenty of time to read (the report) and provide written comment,” Beal said. She said the report will be posted on the Corps’ Web site, local newspapers will be notified that it exists, and a hard copy will be available “at a public venue in Sweet Home.”
Leith said he’s been aware of several rumors and misconceptions that have circulated in the community regarding the marina proposal. He listed the following and offered these responses:
– Some people appear to be confused by the fact that an informational meeting was held by the developers in May to communicate what the plans were for the marina. That meeting, he said, was not the public hearing, which will be held by the Corps of Engineers. At the public hearing, any person who wants to speak in regard to the marina proposal will have an opportunity to do so, though there may be some time constraints on comment.
Leith said the informational meeting was well-publicized, including “well over 100 copies” of the meeting announcement that were placed in public buildings and businesses throughout Sweet Home two weeks prior to the meeting. Two articles in The New Era during the month of May also reported on the project and on the fact that the meeting was taking place.
“Short of a direct mail campaign, I feel we did what anyone could reasonably expect to get the word out in a timely and wide-reaching manner,” Leith said.
– The myth that a vote was held at the informational meeting and that the dozen people who attended it were evenly split in “voting” on whether the marina should be built or not.
Leith said some attendees at the meeting thought a vote would be the ultimate goal and pushed for such an action, but the purpose of the meeting was not to make a decision on anything – simply to inform the public about the proposal. He noted that Foster Reservoir is controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers and decisions about it are made by federal officials.
“In our case, the Corps of Engineers is entrusted to make the best decision for how to manage this particular federal resource,” he said. “That doesn’t the public doesn’t have a voice, however. As part of the proposal evaluation, the Corps is required by law to solicit public comment on the project.”
He said that developers believed in May that the public comment period would begin within a month, but the Corps has not yet reached the point of selecting a public hearing date and soliciting comment.
– The perception that the Corps is giving up public land for exploitation by private commercial enterprise.
Leith said the Corps will not give up land. If the marina proposal is approved, his company will enter into a binding lease agreement with the Corps that will specify how the federal government will be compensated for the use of public land.
“This type of arrangement is hardly unique,” he said, noting that most of the facilities in Yellowstone National Park are run by private concessionaires. Examples of marinas on Corps reservoirs include Detroit Lake, Fern Ridge and Shasta Lake.
“Examples in the field of recreation – and marinas specifically – are everywhere,” he said.
– The suggestion, in a recent letter, that a traffic count on 60th Avenue is part of a plan to cut off Foster Dam Road to the general public.
Leith said any plan to close down the road “is news to me.” The dam road, he said, is the responsibility of Linn County, not the Corps of Engineers.
“I didn’t even know that the Corps was counting cars,” Leith said.
– Arguments that the marina’s presence will be a launching point for boats and that it will reduce recreational activities, picnicking and camping.
Leith said the marina plans have never included a boat launch.
“The lake is currently well-served by public boat launches and adding another at our location doesn’t make sense and is not part of the proposal,” he said.
He said the argument that recreational uses on the lake would be diminished is a matter of opinion.
“Many of those who water ski, fish or cruise the lake believe that having a marina will greatly enhance their recreation experience,” he said. “Keep in mind that the marina is a public marina, not a private club. The proposal includes a number of day-use/courtesy docks, a fueling station and a sewer dump in addition to the slip rentals, All of these amenities are available to the public.”
He said the marina plans do not include any modification of the existing picnic areas on the bench located to the west of the proposed marina location. The marina proposal includes restrooms and a concession stand that, he said, that could improve picnickers’ experiences and since camping is not allowed on the bench where the marina would be located, “I’m not sure what camping areas will be limited.”
– Concerns that a marina could have a negative impact on the community’s economy.
Leith said his company has had a study done by a third-party consultant and, based on that study’s results, has concluded that there is a strong market for a marina at Foster and the impact on the local community will be “measurable and positive.
“Quite simply, if we felt otherwise, we wouldn’t be investing so heavily in our project and what we believe will be a community asset,” he said. “We aren’t alone in this opinion, either. The idea that a marina on the lake would be a net economic benefit to the community is supported by other third-party market analyses as well and shows up as a component of the SHEDG (Sweet Home Economic Development Group) strategic plan for economic development in Sweet Home.”
He said that, as is the case with most new businesses, those conclusions are “our best estimates” and no one will know the impact unless the marina is actually built.
Leith said that some suggestions by letter writers and members of the community, such as moving the marina east of the present planned location to directly in front of the Edgewater condominiums, or the size of the marina and its impact on no-wake zones are “credible, well-thought-out concerns.”
He said moving the marina eastward was ruled out by developers because it would “significantly” increase the cost of construction and would also be complicated by the bend in the shoreline, as well as intrude into a popular shaded bank fishing and swimming area.
He acknowledges that the footprint of the marina and wave attenuation structure cover an area approximately 300 by 600 feet and that one of the “remaining” unknowns of the marina design is whether an additional no-wake zone around the marina will be needed.
Leith said the Oregon State Marine Board and the Corps of Engineers are weighing that issue and will have to make a definitive ruling.
“This issue will need to be resolved prior to the public comment period,” he said.
Beal said the Corps has formed an interdisciplinary team of staff from the recreation, real estate, environmental stewardship and other divisions to weigh the public demand, economic viability, consistency with land use rules and the purpose of the reservoir, and other issues connected with the project.
“This draft environmental assessment assesses those impacts,” she said.
“If people are interested, they will have plenty of opportunity to read and to talk to us about it and discuss it in a public forum.”
She said that this particular project is interesting because it’s a privately funded proposal, unlike previous proposals that were from other government agencies such as the county.
Those, she said, were denied because of questions about their economic viability.
“That’s one of the things that makes this proposal intriguing and interesting to us – that this may be a chance to provide that (marina) facility in a way that is economically viable.”
Leith said that no matter what the answer is from the Corps, “no one group will be happy.
“It’s an exercise in trade-offs,” he said, noting that users of the lake include water skiers, sailboaters, kayakers, motorboat fishermen, bank fishermen, swimmers, and others.
“The Corps, when it evaluates these projects, looks at the best benefit for the public.
He said one thing local community members need to remember is that the Corps is just as concerned about opinions from people out of town as it is regarding what local residents think.
“Twenty-five people in Salem who want to water ski have just as much voice as people in Lebanon who want it to be pristine.”