By Michael Howell
According to Stevensville Mayor Jim Crews, the Town of Stevensville has gotten every permit required to construct a temporary boat launch on the Town’s River Park property north of the Stevensville bridge.
“At this point we are just waiting to get together with the Flood Plain Administrator, FWP officials and the Army Corps of Engineers for an on-site visit to review our project proposal and be sure that everyone is on the same page concerning the permit conditions and what we propose to do,” said Crews.
During the public review process, Flood Plain Administrator Brian Wilkinson did receive a letter of concern about the permit from Roy Capp, the adjacent landowner.
According to Crews, it was Capp’s blockading of the traditional boat launch site by the bridge that created the need for another FAS to be established in the area. He saw the need and the public safety issue that had been generated when boaters started using the steep bank on the west side of the river as a makeshift site. He said that he heard from business people in town, in the county and out of county, who told him they had been negatively impacted by the closure of the traditional FAS.
Crews said the town and FWP were looking at alternative sites but that something needed to be done on an emergency, temporary basis for public safety and economic reasons.
In his letter to the Floodplain Administrator, Capp called the Town’s actions “a ‘knee-jerk’ solution that “will result in permanent consequence. For no other reason than frivolous convenience, leadership in the town of Stevensville is jeopardizing the delicate balance in the floodplain we have sustained for the past 45 years. Poor planning on their part does not constitute an emergency.”
Capp complains that widening the pathway to allow vehicular traffic will create ruts and erosion and, potentially, subsequent flooding on his place. He said the roadway will become a conduit for weeds and breaching the integrity of the riverbank for a boat launch will exacerbate the potential for lateral movement of the stream into adjacent properties. He claims the project represents a threat to life and property.
“Any alteration to the river bank increases the probability that materials may be swept into adjacent lands downstream,” he wrote. He also complained about lack of maintenance and sanitation in the park and questioned the credentials of town officials involved in the project.
“The Town of Stevensville has consistently demonstrated its failure to manage the existing park property. … Their pattern of failure, as outlined above, only fosters my skepticism that their intentions are genuine. To further illustrate, there is pre-existing litigation on another ‘project’ involving the town of Stevensville and repairs for damage to my property that have yet to be resolved…” He calls it a “credibility crisis” for the town.
Capp goes on to state, “It is irresponsible to tamper with the wetlands and the floodplain without documented risk assessment and potential environmental impact study/statements; no matter how temporary it may or may not be…temporary solutions often will have a permanent consequence.”
Capp concludes by commenting that any “deviations in the environmental conditions relative to the floodplain, wetlands and private property; as a result of this proposed course of action can only result in the potential for further litigation against the town of Stevensville and/or certifying authorities.”
The Mayor of Stevensville replied, point by point, in writing to all the concerns expressed by Capp in his comments to the Floodplain Administrator. He points to the extensive public comment that went into the decision to put in a temporary boat launch. He said, contrary to Capp’s remarks, the town was not currently involved in any litigation with the Capps. He said the town was in the process of developing a Master Park Plan that would address the problems of maintenance and weeds and sanitation at all the town’s parks.
Crews said that the town is proceeding in a careful and prudent manner with the project. He said all the potential permits have been either received or determined by appropriate officials, not to be applicable. He said the town would be following all the conditions and recommendations made by the officials involved.
Ironically, it appears that it is Roy Capp who is in need of a floodplain permit. According to Floodplain Administrator Brian Wilkinson, Capp failed make a permit application before installing all those concrete barriers in the floodplain. He said he has notified Capp in writing about the potential violation and is waiting on a response.