Future uncertain for popular Fellows Lake Marina

[Flysmallie]

I hadn't seen or heard anything about this until today. I hate the way that Springfield Silly Utilities operates.Anybody know anything more about this?

http://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/outdoors/2016/06/22/future-uncertain-popular-fellows-lake-marina/85661158/

 

For more than 40 years, the Fellows Lake Marina has quietly been the go-to spot  for anglers looking to buy minnows and lures, rent fishing boats or paddling craft and for youngsters eager to feed the big school of carp alongside the dock.

There's a long waiting list for people hoping to get one of the covered boat slips. On weekends, the marina is a hub of activity, where visitors register their power boats, sailboats, canoes and kayaks to ply the 820-acre lake.

But the fate of the popular marina about 6 miles north of Springfield remains uncertain, and the current marina operators, Paul and Pam Price, fear City Utilities might even close the marina when their lease runs out in 2019. They fear a significant financial hit, if the lease ends and they have no way to sell the business to someone new.

The Prices learned about the marina's uncertain future during a recent meeting with CU officials. CU owns the lake, one of Springfield's main sources of drinking water, and has leased the marina to various operators since it was built in the early 1960s.

The Prices got the marina lease in 2012 and say they have invested more than $100,000 into the business, adding new boats, fishing gear and supplies and offering more services.  But when one of their young employees made them an offer to buy the business, the Prices said they were open to selling.

"When we notified CU that we'd be potentially selling the marina this spring they immediately called a meeting," Pam Price recalled.  "They said they needed to meet with the new buyer right now."

The Prices say they thought CU wanted to meet the potential marina operator, Brenden Kanies,  to discuss the mechanics of transferring the lease to Kanies and have CU do a background check on him since the lake, with its large dam, falls under Homeland Security scrutiny and regulations.

Instead, they say CU dropped a bombshell.

"They said they had an engineer that had looked at the marina and found that the dock needed some major repairs," Pam Price recalled. "They said part of the marina would have to be replaced, and that they didn't really want to be in the marina business. I was just in shock."

Wade Stinson, Associate General Manager of CU Operations, said the engineer found significant deterioration in the metal bracing substructure that ties the floating marina together. He emphasized that CU never told the Prices the utility planned to close the marina at the end of their lease.

However, he said CU is weighing a variety of options.

"We have some decisions to make about what to do with the marina," Stinson said. "Could it look different in the future? Yes, it could. We're putting together some different cost estimates on what we'll need to do with that marina 4 to 5 years out."

He said CU management will have some cost estimates and a recommendation on the marina's future within 10 or 11 months.

"We get that the recreation aspect is important to the community, and it certainly will be a factor in where we go with this," he said. "It's not all about dollars and cents. There is a community value in this."

However, Stinson said CU also has budget priorities to consider, and a costly marina repair "doesn't enhance our ability to prioritize and provide utilities to our customers."

CU spent about $1,000 on marina maintenance and repairs before the marina opened its 2016 season, Stinson said. Those maintenance costs are likely to go up on the aging structure.

After hearing CU's concerns about the structural integrity of the marina, Kanies came back with a significantly lower purchase offer, an offer the Prices say they could not accept.

"CU said their engineers inspected the marina and reported it would be at the end of its life in 2019," Kanies said.  "That's what tanked the whole deal for me. I had 10-year financing lined up to buy the business, but I couldn't do 10-year financing if I might only have the lease for three years or so."

Kanies has since taken a job in Kansas, but he said he hopes CU will ultimately decide to keep the marina.

"It's a huge service to the community," he said.  "We could build a marina twice as big out there and easily keep it filled.  Fellows Lake offers awesome fishing and boating real close to Springfield. Ultimately, I'd like to see CU build a new marina, and I'd like to see the public get behind it."

 

[evilcatfish]

Sad to hear this. I had many good times at Fellows when I lived in Springfield

[jim m]

if cu had there way they would deny all public access to the lake and could care less about any recreation opportunities.

[Flysmallie]

It's not just CU. It's most of the leadership in this city too. Take a look at all the city parks that have excellent fishing opportunities that are closed to fishing. It's sad. Where is a city kid supposed to go if he/she has an interest in fishing? 

[snagged in outlet 3]

I agree.  Near my house used to be a great pay to fish lake, then the County bought it and made it into a park.  I went over there as soon as it opened and no fishing allowed.  What the heck is that about?  They build all these picnic shelters, bike trails and other sites for party's but no fishing. 

Even though it was a pay to fish lake in urban area it had great bass fishing. 

[jim m]

8 hours ago, Flysmallie said:

It's not just CU. It's most of the leadership in this city too. Take a look at all the city parks that have excellent fishing opportunities that are closed to fishing. It's sad. Where is a city kid supposed to go if he/she has an interest in fishing? 

now it was a bridal trail, the skies the limit

[crappie_adams83]

This is not good for us fisherman and for the community itself the marina provide a great service and also I agree with the other guys saying that city utilities doesn't know what they're doing when they don't allow fishing  In the small ponds around the city I've personally snuck around and wet a line due to the curiosity getting the best of me