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Sanders Ferry dock project ready to start
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New docks expected in time for national fishing tournament By Eric Miller • Hendersonville Star News • August 6, 2009 The dock capacity at Sanders Ferry Park is expected to triple in time for next month’s Women’s Bassmasters 
In March, city leaders approved $433,000 of capital improvements that had been unfunded within the parks department’s annual budget for the two previous budget years.
Now, work on one of the key improvements – the construction of new docks in Sanders Ferry Park – is ready to begin.
The existing dock is 80 feet and only capable of accommodating approximately 30 boats.
“It’s really kind of as makeshift dock,” Parks Director Dave LeMarbre said. The dock will be replaced by three 100-foot docks with connecting sidewalks leading to each from the shore. “We’re going to triple, plus what we have right now,” LeMarbre said. The cost of the project is going to be $100,000. Additional shoreline improvements, including the sidewalk and landscape beautification, will be done in-house between the parks and public works departments. The project is ready to begin pending final approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There is a 20-day turnaround time to build the docks, LeMarbre said. Some projects already completedMore than $100,000 of the money has already been spent, and the results can be seen in both Memorial and Drakes Creek parks. “I’ve already spent the money for the playground at the baseball complex,” LeMarbre said. Also complete is the resurfacing of Memorial Park’s oldest tennis court, which has a new two-inch-thick playing surface, which cost $58,000. Across the street from the tennis courts in Drakes Creek Park, a new picnic shelter and a swing set have been erected near the volleyball sand pits. Add in several picnic tables and bleachers and another $68,000 of the allotted funds has been spent. When the docks are finished, parks officials will have a better idea of how much will be left to complete other projects. The most important project following the docks will be replacing old, rusted lights from around the tennis courts in Memorial Park and adding more lighting to soccer field 14 and baseball field 10 to make them game-ready for evening events. The Women’s Bassmasters Tournament is set for Sept. 10.
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Old Hickory Lake may add marinas
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They would be the first approved in decades on Nashville's busiest lakeBy Clay Carey • The Tennessean • January 19, 2009 The agency that oversees development on Middle Tennessee's busiest lake could allow new marinas to set up shop there for the first time in decades. The Army Corps of Engineers could permit as many as three new marinas on Old Hickory Lake because the demand for boat slips far outpaces the supply at the 11 existing docks, said Ray Hedrick, a Corps ecologist who is working on the project. Many communities along Old Hickory Lake — especially Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville and Gallatin — are growing fast. And with about 8.6 million visitors last year, Old Hickory was the third-busiest Corps-operated lake in the country. But Hedrick said it has been at least 20 years since a new marina was built on Old Hickory or on nearby J. Percy Priest Lake. Despite tough economic times, about 95 percent of the 156 slips at Old Hickory Marina are full right now, marina manager Smitty Starkey said. "We'll be 100 percent full by April," Starkey said. "I don't know that they need to let three go out, but I don't know that it would hurt to let one more marina open up." Hedrick said that other marinas are full, or close to it, and that most have long waiting lists. There are about 1,500 boat slips at public and private marinas on the lake. Three sites in Sumner and Wilson counties have been chosen as potential finalists for a new marina: • Saunders Branch Cove in Sumner County, part of Lockett, a planned mixed-use development in the Castalian Springs area. • Station Camp Creek in west Gallatin. • Davis Corner, on Spencer Creek in Wilson County, just west of Highway 109. Landowners take partIn all three cases, Hedrick said, private landowners are participating voluntarily. The three properties chosen were among six proposals submitted last year, when the Corps first announced it was looking for partners to build a new marina. It is possible that, after months of review, the Corps could approve all three marinas. It is also possible that none of them could get the go-ahead. "We've reserved the right to reject any and all of them," Hedrick said. For now, the Corps is trying to determine how the proposed marinas would affect the environment. Its study includes a couple of public comment opportunities; the first is under way and will continue through Jan. 30. 2010 opening possibleThe environmental impact assessments will take until at least early summer. Assuming they reveal no potential environmental hazards, the Corps will start real estate negotiations with the private landowners involved. Once plans are approved, it would be at least a year before any new marina was up and running, Corps spokesman Ed Evans said. Mark Schwartz, president of the Old Hickory Watershed Association, said the new marinas could be good for development as well as nature. The Corps allows lakefront landowners on Old Hickory to own private docks, a luxury those on many other lakes in the area don't have. Schwartz said 150 private boat slips scattered around the lake would hurt the ecosystem more than a single marina with the same number of slips. "When you can consolidate things into one place, you minimize the impact on the environment," he said. Contact Clay Carey at 615-726-5933 or mcarey@tennessean.com.
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Marina sties narrowed to 3 finalists
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Corps of Engineers could OK all or none
Tennessean.com
By Eric Miller/Staff • January 14, 2009
The list of possible new marinas to be built on Old Hickory Lake has been narrowed down to three finalists by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Two of those would be in Sumner County: one near Station Camp Creek and another near Saunders Branch Cove.
“We could pick anywhere from zero to three,” said Tim O’Connell, natural resources specialist for the corps.
The lake currently has eight marinas – five of which are in Sumner County. A market study determined that the lake’s current marinas weren’t meeting demand, and many were 90 percent occupied and had waiting lists, O’Connell said.
When submitting their proposals, applicants had to conduct their own market studies to justify the need for their proposed marinas.
“They had to say how many new marinas they thought demand was there for,” O’Connell said.
However, just because final selections will be made in less than a month doesn’t mean there is necessarily going to be any new marinas on the lake.
The first of the finalists, a proposal submitted by Cumberland Land Holdings, LLC, would be located at Saunders Branch Cove, south of State 25 near river mile 255, according to a release issued by the corps. The marina, if approved, would use 4.47 acres of Corps land, another 21.13 acres of corps-owned water area and a portion of privately owned land.
The submitted site-plan includes condo units, rental cottages, a sand beach and more.
The second finalist is a proposed marina at Station Camp Creek, southeast of U.S. 31E in Gallatin. The proposal, submitted by Foxland Harbor Marina, LLC, involves 6.41 acres of Corps-owned land, another 40.76 acres of Corps-owned water area and 4.98 acres of private property.
The proposed marina would add 205 boat slips to the lake.
The third proposal, located in Wilson County, would be located at Davis Corner west of Highway 109 on Spencer Creek. The proposal, submitted by Spencer Creek Marina Partnership, GP, involves 3.35 acres of Corps-owned land, 25.53 acres of Corps-owned water area and 4.37 acres of privately owned property, according to the Corps release.
Before the final decision is made on which projects, if any, are to be approved, the Corps is performing environmental evaluations of the three sites still under consideration in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
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Approval pending for new marina
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Site could include restaurant, boardwalk, pool
BY KATRINA CORNWELL/Staff • July 10, 2008
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considering approval for a new marina on Old Hickory Lake near Douglas Bend Road, according to Steve Brown, an engineer for the developer.
The marina, which would be part of the Foxland at Fairvue development, would have 205 slips and a floating restaurant.
It would also include a water’s edge boardwalk and a swimming pool, according to information Brown provided to planning commissioners and the Gallatin City Council.
Although the plans initially also included a lazy river, a water ride with a slow current, that detail has been omitted from the final draft because the space was taken to provide 103 parking spaces for the marina.
Some of the details of the marina caught the eye of City Councilman Dale Bennett, who reviewed the plans and architectural renderings provided by the developer in a recent committee meeting.
“I like what we’re looking at – I like the boardwalk,” Bennett said.
The development project, which includes the marina and 96 town homes, was recommended by the Gallatin Municipal-Regional Planning Commission and has been approved by the council on first reading.
The council will consider the residential component of the development on the second and final approval at its meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
A local request for approval of the marina is expected to come after the Corps of Engineer’s decision.
A public hearing will be held to allow for any comments on the project, which involves 850 lots on 416 acres, at next week’s meeting. Multi-family units in the development include 96 town homes and 300 waterfront condominiums.
The sites
“About six months ago we put out a notice of availability to lease for commercial marina concessions on Old Hickory Lake,” said Andreas Patterson, fish and wildlife biologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“We identified six areas on the lake where we would consider new marinas. We’re evaluating applications that we have received.”
Three of the six marina sites for which the Corps made available for lease are located in Sumner County. These include:
-- The Bell Cove site just upstream from the dam on the right downstream side of the Cumberland River within the City of Hendersonville.
-- The Station Camp Creek just southeast of U.S. 31E within the City of Gallatin, near the head of the Station Camp Creek embayment of the lake.
-- Saunder’s Branch Cove on the right descending bank at Cumberland River Mile 255 in Sumner County, south of State Route 25.
Corps review
Preliminary selections will be made on Aug. 1, with final selections being made on Feb. 12, 2009, and the actual leases being offered the following month on March 27.
According to the Corp’s Notice of Availability to Lease Government Land, criteria used to weigh each request include:
• diversity of recreation opportunities/operation proposed;
• quality of proposed site plan and development;
• expertise and background of potential lessee;
• financial capability to perform proposed development plan; and,
• quality of market analysis and feasibility study supporting the projected success of the proposed development.
“We consider location, type of facilities that are proposed, and a feasibility study,” Patterson said. “We try to consider whether the proposal will be a good one for the area, location and how far it’s located from a major highway or road.
Other factors being considered are the number of docks and whether the marina would include a restaurant, she said.
Marinas drive economic development, tourism
The possible addition of new marinas is seen as an obvious economic boom to Hendersonville, Gallatin and Sumner County in general.
“To have that high quality recreation available, it is certainly a positive aspect to the community,” Jimmy Johnston, chief operating officer of Forward Sumner Economic Council, said.
More marinas means more places to put more boats, meaning a larger lure for potential businesses and homebuyers.
The lake is what puts the county on the map, according to Kaye Ireland, executive director of the Sumner County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“It’s our number one attraction. Sumner County is more known for Old Hickory Lake than it is for the specific cities in it,” she said.
Ireland added that one or two more marinas would be a great asset to the county.
“A larger marina, if it has a lot of parking space, dock space and meeting space could potentially be used for fishing tournaments.”
Star News reporter Eric Miller contributed information to this story.
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Corps identifies six new marina sites on Old Hickory
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By ERIC MILLER • Staff Writer • May 27, 2008
With boat slips becoming harder to come by at marinas on Old Hickory Lake, the Army Corps of Engineers has accepted bids for new marinas at potential sites across Old Hickory Lake.
"We did a little market study. Our current marinas, when we started asking around last summer, they were all at least 90 percent occupied. Some had a waiting list for people who wanted slips," Tim O¹Connell, natural resources specialist for the Corps of Engineers office for Old Hickory Lake, said.
The Corps of Engineers opened bids for six different locations across the lake and, while bids for each site have been received, it is unlikely there will be six new marinas.
"I can say almost definitely there won¹t be six marinas granted. The decision hasn't been made as to the what were awarded," O'Connell said.
The sites were found after an extensive search, he added.
"We looked at a whole lot of sites and eliminated some because water depth was not good enough or the area was just a little too congested to put a marina in," O'Connell said. "We looked for deep water coves that pretty much didn't have anything else around but were also very accessible by road."
Now that the bids have been submitted, they will be evaluated and graded on a points system. The Corps will be looking at the site development plans, long term financial plans, financial capability and what experience applicants have running marinas in determining which bids are approved.
Preliminary selections will be made on Aug. 1, with final selections being made on Feb. 12, 2009 and the actual leases being offered the following month on March 27.
The cost of a lease is based on a graduated scale based on revenues, according to O'Connell, who added that the normal lease length is 20 years.
The addition of new marinas is seen as an obvious boom to Hendersonville, Gallatin and Sumner County in general.
"To have that high quality recreation available, it is certainly a positive aspect to the community," Jimmy Johnston, chief operating officer of Forward Sumner Economic Council, said.
The more accessibility we have to that, that is an asset to recruiting.
More marinas means more places to put more boats, meaning a larger lure for potential businesses and homebuyers. The lake is what puts the county on the map, according to Kaye Ireland, executive director of the Sumner County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"It's our number one attraction. Sumner County is more known for Old Hickory Lake than it is for the specific cities in it," she said.
Ireland added that one or two more marinas would be a great asset to the county.
"A larger marina, if it has a lot of parking space, dock space and meeting space could potentially be used for fishing tournaments."
The process is still in the very early stages. The total number of marinas to be approved has yet to be determined.
The timing of this process coincides with the approval of the lake's new Shoreline Management Plan, which included reallocation of more than five miles of shoreline to allow private docks, primarily in the Windstar Bay subdivision of Hendersonville and the Fairvue Plantation subdivision in Gallatin.
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Public speaks out on toll bridge across the Cumberland
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By Eric Miller • Hendersonville Star News • April 30, 2008
A proposed bridge across the Cumberland River that could serve as part of a pilot project for toll roads and bridges in the state is receiving mixed reviews as residents of both Hendersonville and Davidson County have had opportunity to speak out about the project.
While Hendersonville residents speaking at a recent public hearing were mostly in favor of the project that would provide an alternate route to Nashville, Davidson County residents in Rayon City, where the bridge would connect were mostly opposed.
"I think the toll road would be a plus for Hendersonville," Jack Smith, former Hendersonville alderman for Ward 2 and resident for the past 40 years, said.
However, several residents from Rayon City in Davidson County on the other side of the Cumberland River were opposed to the proposed bridge, especially at a similar public meeting held there recently.
"I think the only person who spoke in favor at the meeting the other night was a trucker," said Ed Cole with the state Department of Transportation (TDOT).
Why a toll bridge
State Sen. Diane Black said the bridge project has been discussed for the last 30 years, but only recently has it been proposed as a toll bridge.
According to Michael Skipper, director of the Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the project is in the long-term growth plan, but is unfunded.
By making the bridge one of the pilot projects, the toll would fund a large portion of the bridge's construction. Skipper added there is no other way to fund the project, which is estimated to cost in the hundreds of millions
The state legislature passed the Tollway Act in 2007. As part of the legislation, the Tennessee Department of Transportation is required to submit two pilot projects, one in which bridges are a major component and another that is simply a highway, to lawmakers.
The bridge into Hendersonville is only one of several projects being considered, including a bridge over the Mississippi River, a bridge over the Tennessee River in Hamilton County, and a bridge over the same river in Benton and Humphries County where a ferry operation already exists, according to Cole, who is TDOT's chief of environment and planning.
Where would the bridge connect
There are two versions of the proposed Hadley Bend toll project. The first connects Gallatin Road to State Route 45 in Old Hickory at a length of 3.6 miles and would cost approximately $146 million to build. Tolls would support approximately $68 million to $97 million of that cost.
The second scenario is a 6.4-mile extension starting at Gallatin Road in Hendersonville and running all the way down to Briley Parkway. It would cost approximately $266 million, of which between $176 million to $206 million would be covered through toll revenue.
Both scenarios assume an opening year of 2016 and an estimated toll of $1.50 per passenger vehicle.
Hendersonville residents generally spoke in favor of the proposed bridge.
Residents say project uncertainty is a problem
While this project is simply a proposal that has yet to be funded, the possibility that it may happen has already cost money for some landowners in Hendersonville.
Steve Lanius, Lane Fenstermacher, Lane Atckinson own 16 acres of undeveloped together on Gallatin Road. They say the property, which has an on-ramp for Vietnam Veterans Boulevard cutting into it has an overlay that would allow the government to take more of the land to create exits for the proposed toll road.
Although the overlay has been on the property since it was purchased in 1995, recent discussion to fund the proposed bridge and road via a toll system soured a deal to sell the property.
"We literally saw a contract tore up because they saw this overlay," Lanius said.
"We can't sell it because it is up in the air," Atkinson said. Despite the troubles caused by the overlay, the three are not opposed to the idea of a bridge, but rather support a decision, any decision.
"The best case scenario is to move on with it. Do it or leave it," Lanius said.
TDOT must report back to the General Assembly about progress on the pilot projects in January 2009 and a decision about which projects will be chosen has to made within four to six weeks at the maximum, according to Cole.
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Shoreline plan allows limited number of boat docks
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By Eric Miller • Hendersonville Star News • May 7, 2008
A handful of additional Hendersonville citizens are going to be allowed to have private boat docking on Old Hickory Lake following the approval of the lake's Shoreline Management Plan last month.
The Army Corps of Engineers spent the past two years working on a new plan, which considers both private and public use of the lake's shoreline.
"Our goal is to balance the private exclusive use with the best management practices for the public as a whole," Mark Klimaszewski, conservation biologist for the Corps of Engineers said. "Old Hickory Lake as a whole has annual visitation of right around 8 million folks per year. These changes that were made, they are made with the best long-term management in mind."
The shoreline of Old Hickory Lake extends for 440 miles. Thirty-seven miles of that falls in the city of Hendersonville.
Of Hendersonville's shoreline, 28 miles of it is designated "limited development," which means mowing of the land by adjacent property owners as well as installing a private dock in such limited development areas that permit it.
Just under half a mile of limited development permitting docking was added to Hendersonville by the new shoreline plan.
Located in the Windstar Bay subdivision off of Walton Ferry Road near where it turns to Curtis Crossroads, about 14 households were permitted space for a private dock. However, in the Corps of Engineers allocation changes document, it is recommended that a community dock shared by residents in the subdivision be created due to varying water depth in the area and to protect a nearby heron rookery.
In total, 5.48 miles of shoreline around Old Hickory Lake were changed to allow private docks. While most allocation changes were denied, the largest allocation change approved was Fairvue Plantation located on a peninsula between the east and west forks of Station Camp Creek.
About 115 lots and five miles of shoreline were affected by the change. Due to the large number of lots eligible for docking, the Corps of Engineers recommends a series of community docks for this subdivision as well.
"It's definitely a challenge to manage that demand for private exclusive use to balance that with preservation and effective long range management for the lake," Klimaszewski said.
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Drakes Creek on Old Hickory Lake
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Boat owners watch the sunset at Drakes Creek on Old Hickory Lake as they wait for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will review three new marina proposals, two of which are in Sumner County.
(Tennessean FILE PHOTO) |
By ERIC MILLER/Staff
The Creekwood Marina in Hendersonville is one of several on Old Hickory Lake. The Army Corps of Engineers said there is a demand for more marinas and are currently examining submitted bids for new facilities.
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