by Audrey Thomasson
LANCASTER—A recent decision by the U.S. Coast Guard to pull navigational channel markers out of Greenvale Creek has boaters and supervisors scrambling.
“Last week we found out the Coast Guard is taking out creek markers,” Eddy Whichard told supervisors during the March 30 public comments section of the board of supervisors meeting.
“We think the wood aids are coming out Wednesday (April 5), to about three feet below the surface” of the river bed. “We believe, in the short term, getting in and out of the creek is going to be treacherous without aids.”
The county has a public boat ramp on Greenvale Creek.
Supervisors successfully worked with The Greenvale Association to have the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge silt out of the creek in 2008, while citizens have maintained the creek with dredging in 2011 and 2014, according to planning and land use director Don Gill.
Whichard said the association wants the jetty protecting the creek to be extended another 500- to 600-feet. They plan to put up signage and temporary navigational markers. Associated dredging would involve loading a barge with sand from the creek and dumping it somewhere else.
While the group is looking for grant funding and holding fundraisers, Whichard asked the county for assistance.
“The Coast Guard will put the markers back in after the dredging is done.” Whichard’s rough estimate to fund the project is $75,000 to $100,000.
District 1 supervisor Butch Jenkins made a motion for the county to assist the association and to include the project in the budgeting process. No amount was specified.
The motion passed on a unanimous 5-0 vote.
