A report to Windsor City Council recommends councillors sign off on $3 million in improvements at the city's municipal dock.
Last month, the docks at Lakeview Park Marina were suddenly shut down because of safety concerns. High water levels had caused severe damage to the dock. Many of the wooden planks are lifted off their steel structures, and with water levels not expected to peak until July, the tough decision was made to close the dock for the rest of the season.
The report from the city's administration recommends replacing it with a floating dock system that can adjust to fluctuating water levels on the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, but the project will not be cheap, and a floating dock for the entire marina is not included in this year's municipal budget.
Administrators hope to have the new dock installed in time for the 2020 boating season, so they recommend the city use the $425,000 allocated over the next five years for dock improvements, and $2.5 million from the Central Riverfront Park Improvement project.
The timelines are tight too. The designs will need to be completed next month. The project will have to go out to tender in August and the contract awarded in September to reopen the dock next March.
Simply repairing the existing dock or building it on higher supports "is likely to be a temporary measure as water levels have varied up and down significantly over the last five to ten years," according to the report.
In the meantime, Lakeview Park Marina has already lost $300,000 in revenue because of the closure this season. Administration fears delaying the project will result in the loss of even more significant revenues in the next boating season.