News

Mills River Town Council OKs boat ramp

Mills River Town Councilman Shanon Gonce and Mayor Larry Freeman share a light moment in this file photo.

By Bill Moss, Published: December 18, 2014

MILLS RIVER — After months of discussion, the Mills River Town Council gave the OK to construction of a canoe and kayak launch on the Mills River at the rear of the town park.

The town had been waiting for at least two years for action by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, which has expressed support for the project but has not funded it.
After a lengthy discussion, the board voted to allocate the money in the current year's budget to start the project. Based on a plans drawn voluntarily for the town by Jeff Young, an engineer and member of the town's Park Committee, the boat launch will include the boat ramp, gravel parking lot and gravel walkways. The town board voted to add a concrete pad for handicapped parking but to leave the rest of the improved area in gravel to avoid flood risks.
Young estimated the cost of the project at $37,580 without paving. His plans showed 170-foot gravel walkway connecting the current walking trail to the boat launch, parking lot with 20 spaces and a boat launch of gravel, concrete block and treated lumber.
A catalyst for the go-ahead was a donation from an individual. Vaughan Fitzpatrick, an avid kayaker and the owner of Ferncliff Industrial Park, donated $10,000 to the Mills River Recreation Foundation two years ago toward construction of a boat launch.
"The money has been setting there in the foundation, kind of just laying low," said Councilman Roger Snyder. "I think what the family's intention is let's move forward with this or let's scratch it off the list."
A sticking point was that Fitzpatrick had specified that the donation was to be used "for the cleanup, clearing and maintenance of the river from your boat launch to the French Broad River."
Council members said they'd like to use the $10,000 to offset the construction cost. Snyder said he would contact Fitzpatrick and find out.
"He made it clear in his email to me that he wants to move the process on, and he's going to be as flexible as it takes," said Mayor Larry Freeman.
The board agreed unanimously to go forward with the boat launch after interim Town Manager Lee Galloway said the town's fund balance of nearly $3 million could absorb an expenditure of $38,000.
"You could spend twice that much and it's not that big a deal," Galloway said. "With the fund balance you've got, $50,000 is not that big a deal."
Council members agreed to start the design and planning now so construction could start in the spring and the boat launch could be ready by next summer.