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Is PA Government Targeting the North East Marina for Closure?

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North East Marina targeted for closure

With the 2023 boating season fast approaching, it appears the North East Marina may be closed, leaving hundreds of area boaters without a local dock and many local businesses without a season long source of customers from vacationers and visitors to the facilities. The PA Fish and Boat Commission has removed electrical service and according to one report estimates replacement costs of up to $15 million dollars while the PA Department of Environmental Protection indicates dredging necessary to maintain the marina is not being done in compliance with DEP policies. Instead of enlisting the help of the entire community or consulting with local legislators and coming up with a way to deal with these issues, their solution appears to be shutting down operations altogether.

Many North East area businesses from restaurants and lodging to retail shops of all kinds, depend on the marina throughout the boating season for the annual influx of boaters and their families that come here from all over Pennsylvania and New York and closure will have a huge economic impact on our community.

Everyone in the North East area needs to contact the offices of their legislators and also the offices of the PA Fish and Boat Commission and the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Closing the marina is not an acceptable solution to any of these concerns. We can do better.

PA Fish and Boat Commission
PA Department of Environmental Protection
Senator Dan Laughlin
Representative Jake Banta

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Comments

  1. It seems strange that all of a sudden the PA government decides to close the marina, Has it not been known that the electric would need to be updated? Did the government JUST find out about this? It is disturbing to know that the marina has apparently not been dredging according to EPA regulations to keep our lake healthy. One would think that marina oversight as well as the company dredging should know the rules and follow them. This is “all of a sudden”? Where has management of the marina been? Has there been no one managing it or lack of doing their job? Who is responsible for the marina? NE Township?

    I wonder if there have been issues brought up that no one has addressed and now we are at the 11th hour with nowhere to go. It is really sad that it has got to this point.

  2. This is a shame if they do . I’ve live in the area all my life it seems like the money’s go to the wrong things all the time.

    • Like a $400,000 fish cleaning building they built last year Why didn’t t that go into upgrades for the Marina. What upgrades have there been in the last 30 years ?

  3. The marina has always been a disaster for property owners to the east. By blocking the natural litoral drift, it has absolutely decimated those beaches and cost the property owners thousands of dollars in beach walls, and erosion control. Yes, the lake causes erosion all along the waterfront, but the presence of the marina escalated the situation. The property owners have also spent thousands of dollars in legal fees against the fish commission in order to force them to replenish the sand on their beaches – something that occurred naturally until the marina blocked the sand from drifting west to east.

    I, for one, would not be sad to see it closed, as long as it is removed completely.

  4. I agree that the Marina has blocked the natural flow of sand to the east,but the moving of sand each year has done nothing to help. It is all washed away after the first big storm. Why not built something to satisfy the home owners so they can enjoy their beach and protect it. I think they said the cost of this moving costs $200,000.a year? They owned it for 30 years 1992 I believe

  5. 15,000,000?Who is doing the work for that price?Seems a little stretched to help their cause.The cost of demolition will exceed upgrade costs..Shades beach doesn’t have all the frills but provides access at least.How many miles is it between shades and barcelona NY..No safe harbor between them.When we see what takes its place…The motives will be known..A fee to launch may be needed to help with maintenance in these times..reality..

    • I think someone at the Fish and Boat Commission tossed out that number to make it seem prohibitive and it may not have been based on any real cost estimates.

  6. I would like to think the engineering that went into a State built facility would have forecasted this situation. I can’t believe a State built facility didn’t set aside the necessary funds to maintain on a yearly basis!!

  7. Thanks for all who came to meeting and for the supervisors having it

    Fish commission starting to relocate the sand from west to east side. They will have to dump it in the water because the waves are within five feet of landowners 20 ft banks. How long before it’s washed away. Did fish commission go out for bids on this? Did any local contractors get to bid on this