By Jennifer Langston
Herald Writer
The Snohomish City Council is looking for a few good fishermen to serve on a committee to investigate what it would take to repair or replace its damaged boat launch at Cady Park.
The council voted 4-3 against reopening the popular boat launch, recently declared a hazard by the city’s insurance company, in its present state.
After outcry from anglers, boaters and businessmen, the city council unanimously decided to refer the matter to a committee of anglers and members of its parks board to research solutions.
Mayor Cameron Bailey said he hopes the group will come back with concrete information on what it would cost to fix the old ramp, as well as ideas for building a better one nearby.
He’s in the process of appointing two fishermen to work with the five-member parks board on the issue, he said.
"We’re hoping a committee of people who use the boat launch a lot may be able to come up with a better solution than we would," Bailey said.
The boat ramp at the end of Maple Avenue near downtown was closed by interim city manager Jack Collins last month after the city’s insurance company declared it an unsafe liability.
It was damaged in the 1970s by a 52-ton Army National Guard tank on its way to the fair. It hasn’t been well maintained and has deteriorated since then.
Since the gate went up keeping enthusiasts away from the ramp, scores of livid fishermen and businesspeople have asked the city to reopen the ramp. It’s the only public boat launch on the Snohomish River between Everett and Monroe.
Dozens of fishermen and boaters have offered to donate labor and materials to fix the crumbling concrete ramp. They’re not sure what environmental permits they’d need or how much it would cost.
"I don’t know exactly what it’s going to take … but I think it’s moving in the right direction," said Mark Spada, president of the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club, a group of about 75 local anglers and hunters. "I guess I’m cautiously optimistic because I don’t think anybody on the council said absolutely we don’t want a boat launch in Snohomish," he said.
John Hager, president of the Snohomish Chamber of Commerce and a downtown restaurant owner, said that group of businesspeople thinks the community needs a boat launch close to the city.
Business owners — from stores that sell sporting goods and tackle to downtown shops — have said they depend on anglers and their families.
"Our position is that any loss of public facilities in town is a detriment," Hager said. "It’s just kind of piling it on."
Hager said there are questions about whether the existing boat launch can be fixed for a reasonable amount of money. He said the community also needs to work on a more permanent solution — finding a place and the means to build a new launch site near Snohomish.
Interim city manager Collins contends the aging boat launch at Cady Park can’t be salvaged. He’s recommended the council lobby the county to build a new boat launch on a 66-acre property the county bought three years ago along the Snohomish River.
Pat Kenyon, a senior planner with the county Parks and Recreation Department, said the county hasn’t received any formal request for action yet.
But he said building a motorized boat launch on the property just downstream of the city wouldn’t be compatible with the county’s original intent to provide walk-in access for fishermen and for wildlife habitat.
It was purchased with county funds that wouldn’t allow heavy development like a motorized boat ramp, he said. The county would also have a hard time finding the staff or the money to build and manage a boat launch there, he said.
"There’s probably many steps we’d have to go through, but the primary one would be dealing with a funding source," he said.
Bailey said there may be solutions that no one’s even thought of yet. He said he thought there was time to solve the problem, since the river’s so high now nobody’s interested in fishing yet.
"I think we’re going to find a solution to this by the time people are wanting to use the boat launch in the spring," he said.
You can call Herald Writer Jennifer Langston at 425-339-3452 or send e-mail to langston@heraldnet.com.
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