St. Croix River boaters who launch in Bayport should have an easier and safer time getting on and off the water this year. The City Council recently approved plans to install a boarding dock at the city's public boat launch on Fourth Avenue N.
The dock, which will be 6 feet wide and 90 feet long, is expected to be installed in early spring. Once in place, it will give users a place to secure their watercraft while they park or retrieve their vehicles. And for boaters who get on the river elsewhere, the dock will serve as an invitation to stop and "use Bayport restaurants and shops," said City Administrator Mitch Berg.
Bayport will spend about $17,000 to put in the dock, but the price tag could have been much higher. The city is buying the dock from Minncor Industries, a program of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Inmates at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater will build and install the dock at a considerable savings to the city, Berg said.
"It's also nice to have the connection that it will be made by prisoners in Stillwater," said Berg, who noted that the prison is actually in Bayport.
This is not the first time Bayport has teamed with Minncor for a city project. Last year, inmates enrolled in the program filled myriad sandbags for the city as it dealt with near record-high flooding, Berg said.
The dock, approved by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), will feature galvanized steel parts designed for long life, boat cleats to secure mooring lines and rubber dock bumpers to protect boats' finish.
Owners of large boats still won't be able to use the Bayport launch at it is designed for small watercraft only. "The angle of the approach is not deep enough for big watercraft," Berg said.
Those who wish to park at the Bayport launch, however, will need to get a permit from the city. That's because the road leading to the launch runs through property owned by Andersen Windows. The company allows boaters to use its parking lots, Berg said.
