By Peter Urban
Stephens Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Interior announced today that it will provide more than $1 million towards construction of planned North Little Rock marina for recreational boaters.
The project was among nearly a dozen in 10 states that DOI awarded “boating infrastructure grants” to support recreational boating.
“Everything about this is good,” said Terry Hartwick, executive director and CEO of the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.
The planned Rockwater Marina is to be located just west of the Baring Railroad Bridge.
“To be able to do something like this on our river just adds to the value of what Arkansas river brings to all of our cities from recreation to business,” Hartwick said.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a news release the “competitive grants will help provide quality opportunities and access to America’s great outdoors for our nation’s boaters and anglers, while creating jobs by funding major construction projects to build docks, boat slips and facilities.
The $1,028,425 grant will cover nearly two-thirds of the $1.6 million cost of building 25 slips and fuel services for recreational boaters at Rockwater Marina along the Arkansas River.
The slips would be available for transient ships, those staying 10 days or less, rather than long-term moorings. The slips will handle boats up to 70 feet in length.
“This definitely is a significant step. With that (grant) the remainder of the funding is secured,” said Scott Fitzpatrick, president of MariCorp US, a Missouri-based dock manufacturer.
Fitzpatrick said construction of the slips would likely get underway in the spring.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is partnering with LAD, LLC, MariCorp U.S., LLC, the city of North Little Rock, the North Little Rock Visitors Bureau and the Arkansas Department of Health on the marina project.
Funding for the Boating Infrastructure Grant program comes from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, formerly known as the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, which boaters and manufacturers support through excise and other taxes on certain fishing and boating equipment and boat fuel.
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Rob Moritz with the Arkansas News Bureau contributed to this report.
