City floats $500K dock project

COEUR d'ALENE — The Third Street mooring docks near Tubbs Hill were built with wood and installed in 2000. Since, the city has spent close to $100,000 in repairs, about half of that in the past five years.

For Parks Director Bill Greenwood, that's more than enough and it's time to replace them.

He said repair costs will continue to grow as the timber floats are rotted and water-logged.

"They’ve seen better days,” he said Monday during a meeting of the General Services/Public Works Committee.

Greenwood asked for and received permission for the Parks and Recreation Department to apply for a $350,000 state Waterfront Improvement Fund grant to help pay for the $500,000 project.

The new docks, if approved, will have a composite deck and steel frame with polystyrene floats and are estimated to last for 50 years.

"Very durable," Greenwood said.

The mooring docks, about 30, are popular in the summer.

Boat users pay $2 an hour, or $25 a day, to tie up boats there. They provide easy access to downtown, Tubbs Hill, McEuen Park and the North Idaho Centennial Trail.

The docks "serve as a complement to The Coeur d'Alene Resort and to all of the businesses in the area," according to a staff report.

But the report said, "these docks were built with wood and have gone past the point where they can be repaired."

The city would use $150,000 of its waterfront improvement fund - paid by boat launch fees - to provide the grant match dollars and cover the remaining costs of the project.

Both council members present, Woody McEvers and Dan Gookin, supported the grant application. If it is successful, the city hopes to have the new docks in next year.