The marina project for the 2,830-acre lake was developed 30 years ago when the lake was built but it was shelved due to a lack of state and federal funding.
Earlier this year, $4 million in unallocated funds were identified from the Waterways Safety Fund that was approved as part of the state’s biennial budget for the proposed 300-slip marina, according to officials from the ODNR.
The Caesar Creek Sailing Association lobbied state legislators for project funding last summer before the new state budget was signed into law. Last minute changes from the Senate version of the bill restored the marina funding, according to Art Harden, head of the Caesar Creek Sailing Association who has lobbied for the marina for several years. Miller said the initial $4 million for the project was to get various surveys and studies completed for the project’s engineering design which is needed to obtain environmental permits before construction starts. He said the marina is to be constructed in the park’s North Pool area near the beach area off of Ohio 73. The state has a long-term lease on the lake that is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who is also “a key partner in this endeavor,” Miller said.
Miller said the state’s “Boating on Ohio Waterways,” a strategic planning document, noted there is a need for marina facilities.
“That led us to support this project,” Miller said. “We also got a lot of feedback from our customers and from our law enforcement personnel on the lake who passed on information to us.”
Ohio is ranked ninth in the United States with more than 420,000 registered watercraft. The project’s funding comes from boat registration fees, title fees, fuel taxes and a grant from the U.S. Coast Guard, ODNR officials said earlier this year. An economic analysis provided by the state indicates that, with 300 docking sites for boats of various sizes, boaters would spend about $1,430 annually on upkeep and maintenance, not including fuel, with a total annual impact of about $1 million to the region.
Officials said the facility, to be operated by a winning bidder from the private sector, will fill a void for services such as fuel, restrooms, an additional launch site.
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