The members of the Marshall County Parks and Recreation Board received an estimate from USI Consultants concerning a proposed kayak launch at the King Road bridge in Marshall County.
The proposed “dream plan” called for a parking lot to accommodate vehicles and vehicles with trailers, a staging area, and an upstream launch. It came in at an estimated total construction cost at about $440,000 and the total project cost is $576,000.
The leader of the project, Terry Borggren, said that cost is way out of reach. It was suggested reach out to Starke County park officials to see how they engineered and designed their most recent kayak launch project as it was considerably less costly.
The Marshall County Parks and Recreation Board members agreed and also suggested taking the proposed plan to Marshall County Highway Department Superintendent Jason Peters to see what could be done in-house in terms of milling and stone for a parking lot with the blessing of the Marshall County Commissioners.
The board members do not want to give up on the project, but want to find a more affordable design to complete it and give Marshall County residents and out-of-town visitors this enjoyable recreation activity.
