Yielding to opposition, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission tabled a plan to build a public boat ramp at Crown Lake at Horseshoe Bend.
Usually members of a community welcome a new boat ramp at a public lake, but Horseshoe Bend residents opposed a new ramp at Crown Lake by an overwhelming margin.
The opposition's adamance stunned the commission and its staff. Mike Knoedl, the AGFC's director, said he's received more public input about the ramp project than any other issue except for removing duck blinds at St. Francis Sunken Lands and Big Lake WMAs. Chris Racey, the AGFC's fisheries division chief, echoed Knoedl's observation, as did commissioner Steve Cook of Malvern.
Crown Lake is a 650-acre reservoir that is owned by the Residential and Recreational Improvement District. It is a centerpiece of the Horseshoe Bend community and provides good fishing for bass, crappie, catfish and panfish.
Unlike community lakes in Hot Springs Village and Bella Vista, Crown Lake is open to the public. It has a ramp that the public can use at Box Hound Marina, which has been in business since 1991. The AGFC proposed building a second ramp at Fisherman's Park, on the opposite end of the lake.
Spokesmen representing both sides addressed the commission at its monthly work meeting Wednesday in Little Rock. The anti-ramp side convinced the commission that the Box Hound ramp is sufficient and that a public boat ramp would affect it's owner's ability to make a living.
Laureen Sac owns Box Hound Marina, the only place for a boater to access Crown Lake. Since 1991, Sac said she's expanded the marina by adding more boat slips and upgrading her retail shop. Recently, she also upgraded her boat ramp significantly. It is, according to the photos she submitted, of equal quality to a brand new ramp.
Horseshoe Bend residents may use the Box Hound ramp for free, Sac said, but she charges a $5 launch fee for non-residents. A public ramp at the opposite end of the lake would divert traffic and its associated economic impact from Box Hound Marina.
"Ours is a seasonal business that relies on tourism as a major source of income," Sac said. "Any small amount of money can make or break a business. It's hard to keep a business afloat without adding competition that's aided by public dollars. Putting in a free ramp will cause us to lose launch fees and impulse sales."
Diverting traffic to a public ramp at the other end of the lake also would prevent potential customers from seeing the other facilities at her property, like rental cabins and an RV park.
Additionally, a public ramp would take money from public coffers, Sac said. From 2011-14, Box Hound Marina collected $65,000 in state and local taxes, she said. A drop in business at her marina would probably eliminate those taxes and the public benefits they provide.
Sac also said that a public ramp might result in boating accidents.
"The projected project is in the longest, narrowest and most dangerous part of the lake," Sac said. "The creek which makes the lake runs in three large tubes. When the water is high, the current runs through there and brings logs, debris and sediment. It's unsafe for boating."
The water depth at Fisherman's Park is 7 feet, Racey said. The water can fall 3-5 feet in the summer, which can exacerbate unsafe boating conditions.
Brenda Doty advocated the ramp because of its potential for attracting young people and their economic impact.
Doty acknowledged that Box Hound Marina sells anything a visitor could want, from ice cream to boat and engine parts to marine service. However, Box Hound is only open during daylight hours, which she said limits the lake's economic potential.
"It's important to me that Horseshoe Bend continues to exist," Doty said. "We're not an industrial town. There's no employer that's going to come to Horseshoe Bend to employ 150-200 people. The lake is a drawing card. It benefits our restaurants, bowling alley, our theater and Dogwood Days."
Doty said expanding the lake's appeal to young people could help the town survive by making the town attractive to a smaller demographic.
"Our area cannot continue to exist with an aging demographic," Doty said. "If you don't give people an opportunity to come see what we have, we'll be a ghost town."
The commission accepted Racey's recommendation to shelve the Fisherman's Park ramp with the option of reactivating it if Box Hound Marina ever goes out of business.
The commission asked Sac to consider keeping her boat ramp open during nighttime hours.
Sports on 04/16/2015