THE BRIGHT SIDE
The contract with Bruceski’s has been signed and the lagoon will be cleared out.
What happens next? Three bids came in for the redesign and installation of a new pier system for the lagoon. The bids ranged in price from $176.000 up to $309,000. There are thirty-one slips right now and the redesigns submitted only show twenty to twenty-four. Of the thirty-one current slips the two or three nearest the dam have become unusable due to lack of space when getting in and out of them with a boat. Lake Shore Pier Services presented a permanent pier design, coming in at $176,000.
Bruceski presented two designs for a permanent pier design at $189,000 and a floating pier design at $220.000. Radkie submitted a bid for a permanent pier design at $309,000. Specifications given to bidders were for the design of a pier system, pricing, and to come up with what they felt the maximum number of piers would comfortably fit in the small lagoon. The current slips all need to be widened, some are unusable, and a couple are designated for personnel watercraft due to size.
The Lake Geneva Harbor Master is well aware of the lack of space and the overcrowding currently existing in the lagoon. The loss of some of the slips is inevitable, and the harbor master is ready to deal with that issue. There will be some slip renters who will lose their slips because they will no longer exist. Bruceski’s permanent pier design seemed to be the favorite of the harbor master without actually saying it. Bruski’s has twenty-four slips in its design, with steel pilings, steel frames, and composite decking. Not only does the lagoon need a complete pier redo it also needs dredging. Dredging needs to be done every ten years and it has been eleven. While the lagoon is empty of slips, dredging makes sense. However, the projected cost of dredging has increased significantly. Eleven years ago, the city paid $55,000, but now the cost is expected to be just over $300,000.
The slip renters are already going to be delayed for a month, and potentially much longer. Dredging before reinstallation would extend the delay for possibly the entire season. Dredging is typically done very early in the spring and fall. Even if dredging is done, the lagoon needs regular debris removal. The lagoon generates approximately $27,000 a year for the city in revenue but regular maintenance and improvements far exceed this amount. If the city decides to go ahead with a new pier layout the harbor master suggests the slip rates be increased (to approximately $218 a slip), making Lake Geneva lagoon slips more comparable in price to other lake communities. With a major redo, regular debris removal, and maintenance, the cost increase would appear to be justified.
The funding for the redesign and installation is in the city’s 2025 budget. The Piers, Harbor, and Lakefront Committee have more questions that need to be answered before a recommendation can be made. The funding of the project and the potential addition of dredging before the installation begins need to be available. The committee requested the city comptroller investigate this and see if 2025 funds can be moved to the present and then look at where if any funds for dredging can be placed in this year’s budget. The piers, harbor, and lakefront committee has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday, March 28th of this year. Hopefully, these questions will be answered, and the committee can make recommendations.
Pier Work Begins
