County’s costs for maintaining state boat launch not as high as reported

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2013 at 12:00 am

CARLTON – County officials say their costs for maintaining a state-owned boat launch and park are not as high as reported on The Orleans Hub on Friday.

The Hub put the costs at between $10,000 and $20,000 for bathroom cleaning, mowing and other upkeep at the Oak Orchard Marine State Park, a boat launch and bathrooms along Archibald Road on the west side of the Oak Orchard River.

I came up with that number because county officials said they pay $19,000 to have bathrooms and docks cleaned at the Orleans County Marine Park, a county-owned site on the east side of the river. The cleaning costs for the state site are part of that contract.

I figured it was a 50-50 split, but a county official said there is significantly more work at the county site, which includes 72 boat slips. He estimated the state boat launch and bathrooms cost the county about $3,000 a year.

I figured mowing and other expenses added to county costs as well, but I was told those expenses aren’t nearly as high as reported.

I stand by the crux of the article, that the state should assume financial responsibility for its own boat launch, especially because it’s a revenue generator for the state and the local economy because of the sales tax spent by the fishermen on gas and other supplies while they’re in the area.