"Englewood, Florida - SOUTH GULF COVE -- A downed power line, not a mechanical failure, short-circuited South Gulf Cove boaters’ access to Charlotte Harbor and Gulf of Mexico.
The lock was back online and fully operational, once power returned. But that doesn’t mean the lock hasn’t seen better days. Periodically, the 40-year-old lock breaks down and has been in need of repairs.
The time has come to consider building a new lock.
The lock is on the west end of Cattle Dock Point Road where the Myakka River and Charlotte Harbor meet. It’s a self-service lock, meaning boaters can use the manual control on the lock itself, or use a remote, that will active the lock motor like a garage door opener.
The lock was built to keep freshwater from the canal system from flushing into the harbor. The 6,200-acre South Gulf Cove subdivision is interspersed with more than 55 miles of canals.
The county is installing new hydraulic pistons and wiring that have succumbed to corrosive effect of brackish water, reported Patrick Ferriter, Charlotte County Public Works field supervisor. The county expects a full report on the condition of the lock next week.
Over the years, the lock has taken a beating from larger boats, which can bang around as they go through it, and from vandalism. County staff responds whenever they are notified a boater has a problem, and the county informs residents of the area when the lock is down or taken out of service for repairs.
The county is now preparing to seek engineering proposals for the design and permitting of a new lock to be built parallel to the existing lock. The county already owns the property on which the new lock will be built.
The idea has been long debated by the South Gulf Cove Waterway Benefit Unit Advisory Board.
We know we need a new lock because the community is growing," said David Gervais, the advisory board.
A new parallel lock next to the existing one would provide easier access for boaters by dedicating one lock for incoming boat traffic, and the other one for outgoing vessels. Also, if one lock must be closed for repairs the other could remain open, Gervais said.
The entire project will not be inexpensive, possibly $6 million or more. It will also require approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, other state and federal agencies.
"We believe that it shouldn’t be a hard situation to get the permitting," Rich Redican said. He’s served on the advisory board for 17 years.
"(The existing lock) is getting old," Redican said. At the same time, boat traffic is increasing, seeing 20 or more boats on any nice day during the winter months stacked up or maneuvering through the lock.
In South Gulf Cove, owners of 4,764 canal-front properties pay $25 annually into a municipal service taxing unit that maintains the lock and canals. Each year, 9,744 landlocked properties pay $12.50 into the taxing unit. The Village of Holiday Lake, which has access into the canal system, has 551 properties paying $25 into the waterway taxing unit.
According to the approved budget, the taxing unit identified $295,500 for the design of the parallel lock and set aside another $1.5 million for the construction of a new lock.
The advisory board meets quarterly with its next meeting scheduled for 9:30 a.m. May 2 in the conference room of Charlotte County Building and Construction Services, 18400 Murdock Circle, Port Charlotte."
For more information, call Gina Gilbreath at 941-575-3627 or email Gina.Gilbreath@CharlotteCountyFl.gov.
Email: reilly@sun-herald.com
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