The final phase of a project to update
West Basin Marina in St. Joseph, to keep it competitive with other marinas in the area, will soon get under way.
Landscape and paving improvements are in the works. New lights and an entrance sign purchased by the city also are part of the project. The Michigan DNR/Waterways Commission has approved a grant for the project, which originally was expected to run about $194,000.
But bids came in under budget and the project now is expected to cost $166,162. The state says it will pay nearly 62 percent of the project.
Beaudoin Electric of Sodus won the electrical contract for $33,305. And Pearson Construction of Benton Harbor earned the landscaping contact with a bid of $8,758. They were the low bidders on the project, which drew responses from nine companies. Work is expected to be finished by mid-June.
As a separate but related project, plans are to complete reconstruction of the perimeter boardwalk around the West Basin Marina to replace wood that is getting slippery, and boards that are splintering, and popping up.
"This is the last big project to complete and the marina will be looking like new," says engineering consultant Christopher J. Cook and CEO of Abonmarche.
The reconstruction of the boardwalk should cost about $200,000 and the city has been notified grant funding has been approved for 50 percent of the work.
Although the city hopes to see the boardwalk work done by the fall, the project's completion depends upon receipt of the grant award, plan review and funding availability from the state, Cook says.
The finished project will serve boaters who pay to operate the marina through slip rental fees, fuel sales, boat storage and other fees. Currently, there is a waiting list for boaters who would like to use the marina and city officials want to maintain that popularity.
Over the past several years, the marina has been updated with the construction of a new ship store and boater's lounge, storage/maintenance building and new slips.
"This is the last phase of the work contemplated in the master plan for now," Cook says.
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Christopher J. Cook, Abonmarche
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