New boat ramp could ease summer congestion

After two very congested summers at Riverside Park and Salish Point, Bill Barron says county commissioners “got pressure like you can’t believe” to build a new boat ramp across the river on the chunk of land leased by Polson Fairgrounds Inc. (PFI) and owned by Lake County.

The new facility, slated for construction this year, will feature three ramps and 65 paved parking spaces for pickups, trailers and cars, plus restrooms and three docks for loading and unloading boats.

Barron notes that there’s a shortage of public boat facilities around Flathead Lake, and in Polson, there are just two: the city’s ramp at Riverside Park, which is also a favorite swimming hole, and the Tribes’ boat launch north of KwaTaqNuk Resort at Salish Point.

The fairgrounds project was spurred by public demand and the availability of federal funds, courtesy of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

“When ARPA came out we found out in order to qualify for grants we had to have certain projects engineered – without that ‘shovel ready process’ you don’t have much success with grants,” said Barron.

The county set aside $250,000 for engineering of several projects, including the boat ramp, and $1 million for its construction, although the commissioner acknowledged that the price tag could be higher.

Right now, the ramp is designed and engineered, and the county is working with the Tribes for permits and the city as well, because the parcel is located within the city limits and will need to hook up to city water and sewer.

The ramp and its parking area will occupy a narrow, unused strip of the county’s 47-acre parcel, with entry adjacent to the rural fire station off Regatta Road, and will be fenced off completely from the area managed by PFI.

Once the facility opens, access to the ramps and parking area will be fee-based, at least during the high-demand summer months. Barron speculates that the county may charge around $15 per day (commensurate with a similar facility in Coeur d’Alene), but noted that a fee structure hasn’t been established yet.

“I’ve talked to a lot of boating people who say they would gladly pay for some place to park a pickup and not be on the streets or on a hillside,” said Barron.

During the summer months, boaters often park trucks and trailers along city streets above boat launches, and until the Tribes blocked access, were pulling their rigs onto the steep slope above the Salish Point swimming area.

The parking area above the new boat ramp poses some engineering challenges due to a small swale that runs through the property. Overall the project is expected to cost $1.5 million, of which ARPA funds will cover $1 million.

An existing ramp, south of the new construction, will continue to be available for float planes only. Barron says that ramp doesn’t get much use, “but it’s only one of two between here and Minnesota where a plane that has to land on water can land and get services and fuel.”

The commissioner credits the influx of federal funds as key to moving ahead on the ramp.

“We wouldn’t be able to be working on it to this degree if it weren’t for the ARPA money,” said Barron. “That’s the biggest boon to this.”

The county has also used the federal funds to help finance jail improvements, a major remodel of the dispatch center, and irrigation and sewer and water district projects.

The boat ramp is part of larger plan to reimagine the Polson fairgrounds, which historically has housed rodeos and a handful of other summer activities, including mud bogs, concerts and running events.

Barron says fairground improvements have been discussed for years but were largely blocked due to lack of funding and concerns that development there could dramatically alter the character and historic use of the area.

Over the past year, the commissioner reached out to individuals who had previously voiced opposition to using the area along the river to land anything other than seaplanes, as well as groups with a vested interest in preserving the property around it.

“When we started this project, I went and got someone from every group that’s against it – and put together a small working group to get started,” he said. “The bottom line was ‘this is coming someday so give us your input, work with us on it and let’s get something everyone can live with.’”

So far, the county has interacted with pilots and seaplane operators, boaters, the rural fire department, the city, the Tribes and members of PFI.

According to Billie Lee, the county’s director of special projects and grants, a Preliminary Engineering Report published in 2016 and updated in 2021 identified lake access and an events/emergency center as public priorities. Development of an existing stage and amphitheater and a future events center are also part of a new fairgrounds master plan.

For now, however, the boat ramp takes priority. According to Lee, the project has received approval from the Shoreline Protection Agency, permits have been submitted to the Tribes, and the county is developing construction documents “so that as soon as the permits are approved we can release the project for bidding.”

Work could begin on the drainage and paved parking area as early as this spring. The actual ramps – two that can be used during high and low water, and a third that will just be functional at full pool – aren’t apt to be constructed until the lake level drops again next fall.

“There’s a slim possibility it will be functional by end of season, but probably closer to next spring,” predicted Barron.