The Middlesex County Board of Supervisors (MCBS) approved 4-0-1 on Tuesday, May 2, to spend up to $10,000 to secure permits to have maintenance dredging done at the public boat ramp on Mill Creek at Wake.
Middlesex County Planning Director David Kretz reported that staff has submitted a joint permit application to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) to maintenance dredge the basin area adjacent to the ramp at Wake.
Kretz reported that last year’s VMRC permit for a maintenance dredge has expired and the commission is requiring the county to reapply. VMRC also is requiring that a pre-dredged survey be done.
Once again this is a temporary fix, as maintenance dredging has been done several times at the site, but wind and sea cause the sand to continue to come back and block access to the ramp.
Hartfield District representative John Koontz was visibly upset over the county having to reapply for a permit and to have pre-survey work done. Since he has been on the board, Koontz has been pro-active in attempting to find a way to make the Wake boat ramp usable.
“It is three weeks from Memorial Day and I’ve made promises to citizens that the boat ramp at Wake would be open,” said Koontz.
“We were not anticipating that the county would have to reapply for a permit,” said Kretz.
The planning director also said his office has heard nothing back since the permit was reissued and “therefore no timetable (of work) can be provided at this time.”
Koontz recommended that the county set aside up to $10,000 to cover any cost involved in getting the ramp open “as soon as possible!” The entire board voted in favor while Koontz abstained from voting.
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