Dock project gets OK

COEUR d’ALENE — The Coeur d’Alene City Council on Tuesday approved a plan to replace the Third Street mooring docks next to Tubbs Hill.

The project calls for awarding a contract to R&R Northwest LLC for $483,823. It will be funded by a state Waterfront Improvement Grant of $329,000 and the city’s match at 32% of $154,823.

Monte McCully, city of Coeur d’Alene trails coordinator, said the wooden docks are close to 25 years old and have pretty much reached the end of their life.

In the past five to six years, the city has spent about $100,000 on dock repairs.

The docks by the city’s fireboat garage will be rebuilt with composite deck and steel frame with polystyrene floats. The better materials are expected to last closer to 50 years and "will provide the boating public with a safer and longer-lasting dock at 3rd Street," according to a city report.

“Rather than the 20 to 25 that wood gets us,” McCully 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 access to downtown, Tubbs Hill, McEuen Park and the North Idaho Centennial Trail.

Last year, the Parks Department applied for a Waterfront Improvement Grant through the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation and it was awarded this year.

The city will use its waterfront improvement fund from boat launch fees to provide the grant match dollars and cover the remaining project cost.

Councilwoman Christie Wood said, while some have expressed concerns about accepting government grants due to strings attached, the docks need to be replaced and gave praise to McCully.

“You did a fantastic job,” she said.

Councilman Dan Goookin noted that the grant requirements are pretty basic, such as not discriminating and filing standard information reports.

“There’s nothing really nefarious in here,” he said.