Moore Haven Marina redevelopment begins

  With the demolition of the old hurricane-damaged  Moore Haven Marina docks off First Street, north of US 27, work has begun to redevelop the marina. With the help of the Glades County Economic Development Council and member businesses the City applied for two Florida Boating Improvement Program grants from the State of Florida, totaling $397,000, last summer and received notice of the award last fall. The City also applied for and was awarded a Florida Department of Environmental Protection Clean Vessel Act Grant  for $43,000.

   According to EDC executive director Tracy Whirls, the grant monies will be used to dredge the existing boat basin and entrance channel, purchase and install 400 lineal feet of floating dock, construct a cement sea wall, install a 40 ft. courtesy boat launching dock for small fishing and pleasure boats, construct a building that will house boaters bathrooms, showers and Harbor Masters office, and a waste pump out system.

   “We could not have done this without the help of River Forest Yachting Center,” the EDC director said. River Forest Yachting Center has recently opened a 200,000 square foot climate controlled yacht storage and service facility in Ortona on Williams Road. River Forest owner Joe Charles and General Manager John Smith, with the help of many of their sub contractors and engineering organizations, have been able to provide the majority of the materials and labor previously budgeted at well over $100,000 to construct the bathhouse and dock masters office facility. With the wide spread community participation sponsored by River Forest in garnering donations of materials, labor, and services, for not only the bathhouse and dock master facility but also the marina renovation project, the City of Moore Haven and River Forest Yachting Centers were jointly awarded one of six National BOAT US awards for community involvement (See related story)

    Moore Haven was the only recipient in the State of Florida. Among those who’ve volunteered to assist with the project are Young's Electric of  Ft. Myers; Canco Construction of  Tampa ; Vulcan-Florida Rock of LaBelle; Dixie Door of  LaBelle; R&R Sprinkler Inc. of Cape Coral; Sheppard Landscaping of Cape Coral; River Forest Yachting Center of Stuart and Ortona, Johnson and Prewitt  Engineering of  Clewiston; HL Bennett Engineering of LaBelle; Wadell Quality Carpentry of LaBelle;  LaBelle Plumbing of LaBelle; Diversified Concrete & Repair of LaBelle; Karr Drywall of Ft Myers and Glades Electric Cooperative. The redevelopment of the marina is what the EDC director hopes will be the first step toward revitalizing downtown Moore Haven.

   “Once the Marina project is completed, the City will be soliciting a provider of diesel and gas to supply fuel to many of the 9,000 watercraft that traverse the State annually via the Inter Coastal Waterway,” the EDC Director said, adding, “We should be able to generate enough revenue through the sale of fuel to defer the majority of the costs of the Marina operations. “Our objective is to make Moore Haven a destination,” Ms. Whirls said, speaking for all those who worked with the City to make the marina project a reality. “Once the big boats start coming, and motorists crossing the US 27 bridge over the river can see them, they might decide, oh, let’s go check that out, and you’ve brought more potential customers to downtown,” Ms. Whirls said. By enhancing the existing local market with yacht traffic, then augmenting that with motoring tourists, the EDC director hopes to attract a buyer for riverfront property to site a hotel and restaurant, which would then serve as the anchor tenant for a redeveloped downtown.

  The EDC and city officials are also hedging their bets by planning to launch a water taxi & service on the river and Lake Okeechobee later this spring. Last summer Broward County made available several water taxis that were funded several years ago with the help of a federal Department of Transportation grant,  Ms. Whirls said. “The taxis had been operated by a concessionaire that terminated their operating agreement sometime in 2007.  The county then began to seek other municipalities to take the taxis off their hands and avoid having to pay back the grant monies should they sell them at auction. Giving three of the taxis to Moore Haven helped eliminate this problem and at the same time created a real opportunity for Moore Haven.”

   When the Glades EDC director heard the boats were available, she started lobbying the city to pursue the acquisition of one or more of the taxis. She then recruited River Forest to go to Ft. Lauderdale and check them out. Arrangements have now been made for the City to take three of the vessels and will soon start the re-fit of two of the vessels. Through the help of Mr. Charles, owner of River Forest and Co-Chairman of the Broward College Marine Technology Foundation, they arranged to have the school re-fit the electrical and drive systems of two of the taxis as part of their class programming. The City of Moore Haven will be responsible for materials only.

    “The water taxis with a capacity of 40 passengers are enclosed and air-conditioned,” the  EDC director said. “We hope to have them on the water by the first weekend in April, in time for the Big O Birding Festival. “Once the water taxis are ready to be launched, we plan to partner with a tour bus company in an effort to bring in visitors to the County who want to bird watch or otherwise sightsee on the Caloosahatchee and Lake Okeechobee. “People often come by the EDC officer building asking where they can go to take a boat ride on the water,” the EDC director said. “We’ve been sending them to Clewiston. Soon we hope to serve them here.”