[OSMB-News] News Release -Marine Board Seeks Boaters’ Feedback on Statewide Boating Access Improvements

[Ashley Massey]

For Immediate Release                                                     Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 
Marine Board Seeks Boaters’ Feedback on Statewide Boating Access Improvements
        
            Is there a sudden drop off at the end of the boat launch?  Are the boarding floats partly submerged?  Is the parking adequate for long trucks and trailers and easy to maneuver in?  Are there enough restrooms?  The Oregon State Marine Board wants to hear from boaters about where they would like to see boating access improvements made throughout the state. 
            “With nearly 1000 boat launches in Oregon operated and owned by more than 120 different city, county, port, park districts and state and federal agencies, we rely heavily on feedback from boaters, who are the eyes and the hands-on experts to what improvements need to be made when they get out on the waterways,” says Wayne Shuyler, Facilities Manager for the Marine Board.  Every six years, the Marine Board conducts a statewide survey, called the “Six-Year Plan,” where boating facility repairs and upgrades are prioritized based on their existing condition.  The Marine Board then works with waterway managing agencies to provide quality boat ramps, boarding floats, parking areas, boat pumpout/dump stations and restrooms.  
The Marine Board’s Facilities Program also serves as a central, dedicated source of assistance to boating facility providers by offering design and engineering services, facility standards and specifications, waterway permitting and technical expertise to eligible grant applicants.  The Marine Board provides grants to construct and renovate boating facilities, and maintain improvements to protect the quality of our waterways using federal Clean Vessel Act funding.  Such funding allows the Marine Board to assist facility providers with purchasing floating restrooms, portable toilet dump stations, and vessel waste pumpouts at public and private marinas.
            “We want to hear from boaters… tell us the good, bad, and ugly boat launches or places you think need to be improved for safety, easier access to the water, or your ideas about how to improve the area where you boat,” Shuyler adds.
            The Marine Board will also be holding “Boating Facility Open Houses” in various locations throughout the state during the month of August from 7 to 9 p.m.  Boaters can also submit comments online.  Go to the Marine Board website at www.boatoregon.com to access the online survey, go to the survey directly to http://library.state.or.us/services/surveys/survey.php?sid=715.  Boaters can always contact our office at 503-378-8587 and ask to speak to someone in the facility section.  
            The Marine Board’s funding is dedicated and does not rely on the state’s general fund. Motorboat titling and registration fees in addition to the marine gas tax pay for boating access improvements, law enforcement services and boating safety education and outreach materials for boaters throughout Oregon.
###
Boating Facility Open Houses
7-9 p.m.
Dates:   
August 2 – Umatilla Open House 
McNary Dam Meeting Hall, 1 mile east of Umatilla, Oregon, on Highway 730 to McNary Dam Road, Umatilla 
 
August 4 – Vale Open House 
                                    Educational Service Dist. 
                                    363 “A” Street West, Vale
 
            August 9 – Redmond Open House
                                    Redmond Public Library
                                    827 SW Deschutes Ave, Redmond 
 
            August 11 – Klamath Falls Open House 
                                    City of Klamath Falls, Council Chambers, down stairs
                                    500 Klamath Ave, Klamath Falls 
 
            August 16 – Port Orford Open House 
                                    City of Port Orford Council Chambers
                                    Idaho St. entrance 
 
            August 17 – Florence Open House 
                                    Siuslaw Fire & Rescue Hall 
                                    2625 Hwy 101 North, Florence
 
            August 23 – Nehalem Open House 
North County Recreation District 
3615 9th Street, Nehalem
 
August 24 – St. Helens Open House 
                        St. Helens Library
 375 South 18th Street, St Helens
 
August 25 – Gladstone Open House
                        Gladstone Sr. Center
1050 Portland Avenue, Gladstone 
 
            August 30 – Roseburg Open House 
                                    City of Roseburg Library, Ford Room
                                    1409 NE Diamond Lake Blvd, Roseburg 
 
            August 31 – Albany Open House
                                   Old Armory Building, Miller “A” Room
                                    104 SW 4th Street, Albany 
 
Ashley A. Massey
Public Information Officer
Oregon State Marine Board
503-378-2623
503-378-8587 ext. 82623
ashley.massey at state.or.us
www.boatoregon.com
www.twitter.com/marineboard
We're also on Facebook
 
"Go with the flow." 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/osmb-news/attachments/20100721/36baf41b/attachment.html>