Outdoorsmen miss local docks

Three years and no docks.

This summer will be the third without docks at Boothe's Park and Landing on Lake Coeur d'Alene, since Kootenai County removed the old docks damaged beyond repair by a winter storm.

Outdoorsmen are feeling their absence, said Dale Odenbaugh with Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

"Shoot, almost every other day," he said of how often boaters and fishermen express regret over the missing facility. "Local guys liked those docks, they liked them a lot. It was a no charge area, really easy to put in during the winter. It's a favorite launch."

The holdup for a replacement continues to stem from a property dispute between East Side Highway District - which owns the quarter of an acre park - and the site's neighboring landowner, Greg Delavan.

"It's frustrating for a lot of us," said John Pankratz, East Side road supervisor.

The Idaho Department of Lands will only issue an encroachment permit to install a dock at the site off Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive, Panktraz said, if both the district and Delavan sign documents stating that neither claim ownership of the boat launch.

"Devalan claims that he owns the property where the boat launch is, and our documents disagree," Pankratz said. "Before the Department of Lands would issue a permit, that dispute either had to be settled, or the parties had to agree to disagree, for lack of a better term."

The highway district sent those documents to Delavan last fall, Pankratz said, and have yet to hear back.

"The documents are just waiting for him to sign and return," Pankratz said. "Then we can move forward with the dock permit."

Delavan said he won't sign documents that don't protect him from liability from dock injuries.

He contended that the highway district is the party that has been unresponsive, in that it hasn't cooperated with his request for a memorandum of agreement over the dock's use and maintenance.

"It (the documents they sent) didn't address any of the issues, regarding who's going to pay for maintenance, the hours of operation, standard stuff that goes along with a use agreement," he said.

Delavan had disputed a county surveyor's findings that the launch is included in the park property.

Anyone who agrees the launch is on his land, he said, could hold him responsible for an accident that occurs.

"Those docks have been misused," he said. "I can't afford to buy insurance to accommodate the boating public."

He thinks many prefer the area without the docks, anyway.

The parking lot isn't as crowded, he said, and there's more room for folks to enjoy the park.

"I've heard compliments from people who like it better because there's a place to park," he said.

Odenbaugh said parking had been tight before, but only because so many loved the launch.

Fishermen can still push their boats off there, he acknowledged - if they're willing to get wet.

"You can drag your boat out, but you've got to walk out in the water and get in your boat. Which isn't too fun this time of year," he said. "And us old farts have a hard time climbing over the side of the boat."

Nick Snyder with county Parks and Waterways, which had maintained the docks, said it would cost roughly $60,000 to replace them.

"Just with the fixed pilings, gangways and bulkheads to connect the dock," he said.

The county would likely try to cover it with a grant, and partner with agencies like Idaho Fish and Game.

Snyder doesn't know what the next step will be to get the docks replaced, he said.

"The issue has been looked at. It's still of interest," he said. "It's just not on people's radar at the moment."