Lake Champlain United - Forums

Picked this off the other forum. Nice explanation...


All

I wanted to take a few moments to clear up some misinformation and briefly explain the goings-on regarding the Apple Island Resort ramps and the new property the Fish and Wildlife Department just purchased.

In December the Department purchased 3.7 acres of the 5.7 acre field that is located in South Hero and situated between Featherbed Land and Rt. 2. This is one of two acquisitions that will create a new access area just north of the South Hero/Milton causeway. We hope to acquire the northern ramp that is now privately owned by the end of the month. These two parcels will create the new John Guilmette Access Area. The public can use the parking lot today, but the ramp is not ours so I cannot tell you that you can use the private ramp.

Once the purchases are completed the Department will put out a sign for the new access area up by the Route 2 entrance (near the Welcome to South Hero sign) and issue a press release notifying the public of the new property. Please understand that there will not be any improvements to the site this year as it will take some time for design work and permitting to be approved. I hope to have the job bid out next winter and work to begin sometime next year. In the end, we hope to have a re-built ramp, ADA accessible dock, and a drastically improved parking lot.

A few things to be aware of with this property... there was some opposition locally and in order for the improvements to go smoothly I ask that you spread the word on how we'd like to see the access used. The entrance will be from Rt. 2 near the soon to be erected access entrance sign. This mean you will have to drive through the field and cross Featherbed Lane to access the ramp. This way there will not be any increased traffic on that private road; in fact we hope to see it reduced by having the traffic flow laid out better. Also, we need to ensure that the private road is not blocked while waiting to launch or retrieve. I’m not making any judgments on this last issue, I simply note it because a few locals complained at the public hearings that the boaters would block the road while waiting to launch. Just being mindful of this issue will hopefully help to show opponents of this project that they were wrong and this public facility will be a hung benefit to all users of the lake.

Good luck and enjoy.
Mike

Thanks Mark. This is very informative.

Thanks Mark.
And thank you Mike Wichrowski for your tireless efforts.

So am I missing something here or did we get a bit screwed this year?

I was a member of the apple launch and gladly paid a flat fee of $100 a year to launch my boat. Sounds like the state purchased the parking lot, so who do we pay money to for use. The crazy lady that owns the ramp is still going to want money, right? She doesn't offer a season pass, Marko (former lot owner) did. Seeing I launched 50 times last year, it would cost me $400 this year if I am understanding this correctly.

And anyone who has used that lanch knows you can't stage boats in the parking lot. The enterance is too narrow for 2 way traffic.

Couple that with no improvements this year and I fail to see why this is exciting.

"We hope to acquire the northern ramp that is now privately owned by the end of the month."

My understanding is the state owns a major portion of the field, so you can park there free (but don't quote me). The bad ramp is I think the one noted above, so that ramp will be free as well. But of course, it's about impossible to load a boat onto a trailer in any sense of "straight" on that ramp. So I'm still a bit confused too, guess you'll have to still pay to use the southern, shallow ramp, but won't have to pay to park if you park in the field.

Still a bit odd, but the pieces are coming together, I think.

I believe that Marilyn, aka crazy lady, owned the field. Someone else owned the ramp. If the state purchases the ramp by the end of the month, you could launch and park for free for the remainder of the year. We are far from being screwed. It will be a little time, maybe not before the end of next year, before it is done, but when done, we should have a nice ramp and parking lot to use without a daily fee. Personally I welcome it.

I always launch at the ramp that needs work. I do not have an issue most of the time as I have 6 bunks on my trailer. That ramp is not free unless something has been worked out with Marilyn (owner of ramp). She collects $8 each day you are there.

I am trying to understand the situation to avoid an argument as the lady can be a bit crazy at times.

I'll be there Sunday and guess I will find out then.

Great clarification Mark... I was curious....

Marilyn is not a crazy old lady. She is cool as hell. She owns the ramp. I would be pissed and crazy if I were her too if everyone and their brother used my ramp to launch. Ill be damned if I buy a piece of lakefront property.. pay thousands and thousands in taxes just to have everyone else enjoy it for free. I gladly paid her (and Markus... who owns the field) that $100 bucks to launch and park there for the year. Hell. If I were her id charge 10 bucks to launch. That money goes towards property tax. Whats wrong with that? Im sure she made out nicely with the price the State paid for it. Glad to see my license fees go towards this than those management things etc that are supposed to be improving our deer herds.....

Now I am all for enjoyment of the lake etc. Great for the State for working something out. The appeal to me was a zone where it has less traffic etc etc blah blah blah. Now we get to enjoy.. a glorified new Mallets Bay. boo hoo.... IMO. However, I will still use it no matter who owns it.. free or not... simply because of convenience factor. I too will welcome a nice new deep water ramp when it is done... free of ruts that make your boat on on your trailer crooked!

This solves a confusing scenario for a newbie. Who owns what? The best launch had the worst parking. The first time I launched, I launched on the south ramp and parked in the field. It was 5 am and I didn't have a clue. When I returned, the guy at the launch charged me for the launch, but not to park. Marilyn charged me to park, but not to launch. They were both really nice. I paid $3 for the launch and $5 for the parking. I felt foolish, but all ended well. A State launch will work well for me. It may cause an increase in boat traffic, but still beats Malletts Bay.

Marilyn was always super nice and I always paid before launch, she liked that. I'll miss her.

An improved ramp and decent parking seems like a good thing to me.

Can't wait to get after some of those white perch!