A new boat launch at Deer Lake may cost Independence Township more than they originally foresaw, but the long-planned project will finally be completed.
The project has had the green light since July 1, 2003, but due to an extended planning phase and a rebidding process did not come to fruition until now.
The original budget for the project was $69,273, with the township paying 25 percent and the rest of the money coming from a grant through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
But items in the original proposal had to be reexamined when the township received only one bid, coming in well over budget at $129,755.
‘What reduced the price for us was the removal of dredging from the bid proposal,? said Mike Turk, director of Independence Township Parks and Recreation. Turk added that sand which washes up on the beach will be cleared by Parks and Recreation staff as it has been in the past.
Construction will begin on April 1 and is slated to be completed by late May. The new bid with dredging removed came in at 69,828 for construction and $8,500 for planning; a total of $78,328, which was received from V.I.L. Construction Inc. of Sterling Heights.
Because the MDNR offered to pay 75 percent of the original estimated costs, the township board approved an expenditure of $30,868 for the boat launch. Originally, Independence Township was responsible for $15,818.
Currently, Hubbel Roth and Clark Inc., the consulting engineer firm who sought the bids for the Deer Lake boat launch, is negotiating with the MDNR to raise their contribution to 75 percent of the new bid.
The new boat launch will have a 13 percent grade. The current launch has a five percent grade. According to Turk, getting a boat into Deer Lake will be much easier.
However he does not feel that people who have enjoyed Deer Lake in the past should be worried about the water being choked with boats this summer.
?(The new boat launch) will not increase the usage on the lake,? said Turk. ‘We can only get 10 boats in our parking lot and then we stop allowing them in.?
The next closest bid to V.I.L.’s winning number was within $1,756 put forth by Yates Construction Company of Oxford.