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River Landing at Warren project given green light

A preliminary drawing of the River Landing at Warren proposed finished project from Monday night’s project summary presentation.

The River Landing at Warren is a go.

The project, spearheaded by the 2014 Leadership Warren County cohort, will place a system of floating pontoon docks at the eddy beneath the Hickory Street bridge. At Monday night’s city council meeting, project members updated council on the project and requested council’s endorsement in order to begin fundraising for the project.

According to City Planner David Hildebrand, the city has accepted their request, contingent on funds being raised. The City of Warren will become the project grantee, administering any grant money awarded to the project. Hildebrand, who writes a majority of the city’s grant applications, said the city would be working with the river landing team to ensure that the two entities are not competing in their grant application process, as many of the grants for which the river landing would meet the criteria the city could also qualify and potentially be applying for.

The goal of the project, according to Monday night’s presentation, is to connect the river traffic to businesses and resources in downtown Warren. The site was chosen for its slow water flow and easy access to public restrooms, as well as its proximity to downtown businesses. According to the presentation, “Allegheny Outfitters transports over 15,000 people to the Kinzua Dam boat launch annually. There are other businesses that take an untold number of other rafters, boaters, canoers, and kayakers. In addition, the river is open to anyone that does not use the area outfitters, so we don’t know what the true number is over 15,000.”

In any case, the project rests on the fact that a large number of potential visitors to Warren’s downtown could be effectively driven there if ready access to downtown were made available.

The projected cost of the project is $446,000, for which fundraising is getting set to begin, according to project chair William “Buzzy” Bussoletti. Four major components make up that total cost, including an approximate preliminary cost of $298,000 for site improvements, $101,000 for the dock itself, $10,000 for engineering and architecture, and $37,000 for miscellaneous accouterments such as furniture, kiosks, signage, permitting fees, construction bonds, testing fees, and builders risk insurance.

The proposed site improvements include an ADA accessible ramp, adjoining steps, riverbank supports for the dock, outdoor furniture, brick walkways between parts of the site to meet ADA compliance, and an information kiosk at the stair entrance to downtown.

The dock system is a “GatorDock,” which includes ADA compliant gangway rails, synthetic composite decking, and pontoon floats. The gangway will be 20 feet long and six feet wide to meet ADA compliance, and features a U-shaped design to allow maximum space for boat tie-ups — accommodation for up to 20 to 30 canoes and kayaks pending final design — and safe entry components for canoes and kayaks. The railings are aluminum and the composite decking is non-splintering, which comes with a 25-year warranty. The dock itself comes with a one-year warranty with an optional extension at additional cost, and the aluminum construction is intended to make the structure “maintenance free for the life of the material,” according to the project summary.

While the city will take over both maintenance and insurance on the project at its completion, public safety has been taken into consideration in the site and structure design. The intention is for the site to be accessible in line with all other city park hours — 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. for park, recreation, preservation, and conservation areas and 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. in designated lighted facilities within park, recreation, preservation, and conservation areas, according to city ordinance 340-7. The recommended seasonal availability of the park is from Memorial Day through the end of October.

Gated entrances are planned for the top of the stairs and ramp, and in lieu of the lighthouse, which Bussoletti said was omitted from the final plans to provide an overall cost savings, a lighted flagpole will be placed and lighting will also be available from Soldiers and Sailors park. The team is also exploring the possibility of video surveillance at the site.

As far as ongoing maintenance and the city’s responsibility to insure the site, City Manager Nancy Freenock said that the premium quote for 2018, the projected completion date for the dock, was $305, which could change if any of the site plans change.

“The plans were sent to Penn Prime, the city’s insurer, in order to obtain the quote. Penn Prime insures municipalities and authorities and operates as a pool so the risk is shared” among members, Freenock said. When it comes to maintenance, the dock will need to be removed from the river each winter, and stored on site, according to Bussoletti.

In terms of permitting for the project, said Taffi Skopinski, “we’ve started the process by initiating contact with the DEP and informing all relevant agencies — Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for historical significance impact, and the PNDI groups of Pennsylvania Fish and Boat, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, DCNR, and Pennsylvania Game Commission for environmental issues.”

Three of those groups, the PHMC, Pa. Fish and Boat, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, have requested additional information.

“Now that the city has agreed to assume ownership once the project is constructed, we can prepare our responses to these requests and intend to to just that in the coming weeks,” Skopinski said. The intent, she added, is for the project to be minimally invasive, environmentally. “We’re looking at several ways of anchoring the dock, and our first choice is that structural attachment be addressed strictly by onshore anchorage.” That, said Skopinski, would ensure that riverbed disturbance is a “non-issue,” which is important because any riverbed disturbance is anticipated to involve the relocation of threatened/endangered mussels, “which is something we’d like to avoid due to cost and schedule implications,” Skopinski said.

It won’t be until structural engineering is done that the project team will know whether the anchorage can be achieved onshore. “Other anchorage systems,” said Skopinski, “would involve riverbed attachment and would be considered if need be.”

The city’s approval of the project is a green light to move forward, according to Skopinski, who added that “once the second round of agency responses are received, our committee will set up a scoping meeting with DEP for guidance and recommendations. The project will require a joint permit so we will need approval from the Meadville Regional DEP Office and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“City Council is very excited about this project. The city appreciates all of the time and effort put forth by the Leadership Warren group that has undertaken this project. Once completed, the dock will be a wonderful addition to the amenities offered in Warren and will have a significant impact on our downtown.”

A public fundraising forum will be held at a date to be determined, Bussoletti said. The hope is to have the River Landing of Warren project achieve 501(c)3 nonprofit status under the WCCBI umbrella.

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