Charles City takes another step toward James boat ramp

Boat ramp access to the James River on the shores of Charles City County is one step closer to becoming reality. But before the boat trailers arrive, county officials must clear a funding hurdle in a quest for construction dollars.

Late last month, the Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit request that paves the way for constructing the boat ramp, County Administrator Jack Miniclier told county Board of Supervisors members during the group’s quarterly work session last Wednesday.

The boat ramp is to be built at the county’s Lawrence Lewis Park in the vicinity of the park’s fishing pier. Miniclier said the ramp is to be 50 feet long and 28 feet wide. The concrete structure is to be flanked by two 55-foot long tending piers.

Providing boat access to the James from the Charles City side has been a process decades in the making. For years, the project has been blocked by the presence of endangered bald eagles that nest along that section of the river, but the birds’ recent recovery in numbers has led to loosening restrictions.

Miniclier estimates construction costs at $260,000, but that money may not be readily available in light of an ongoing state budget crunch.

“If the money can be found, the ramp could be built in the next two or three years,” he said

Still, the county must face other restrictions including a construction time frame that will prohibit work from May 1 through Sept. 30, the time when eagles are actively nesting in the area.

Then U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials are expected to limit hours of operation once the boat ramp opens, and the ramp is to be staffed during operating hours, Miniclier told supervisors.

In other matters during last week’s work session, county school officials presented a proposed $14 million budget to supervisors who neither questioned the bottom line nor a request for $7.1 million in county money.

The local request is just over $100,000 above the close to $7 million in county dollars schools received for the current year. The overall budget, meanwhile, is 6.4 percent higher than the current year’s $13.2 million figure.

Schools are asking for a 4.5 percent pay raise for teachers and other employees. If approved, a starting teacher next year would earn $37,500, meaning an increase of about $1,500. The pay scale would then rise in 33 steps to a top level of $56,638.

School Superintendent Janet Crawley told supervisors that increases have been factored into the proposal for rising fuel, insurance, and supply costs. Schools also expect to receive less federal dollars next year, she said.

Other budget highlights include the lease/purchasing of two new buses and $250,000 for upgrading heating/ventilation/air-conditioning systems in the schools.

“HVAC is in tremendous need of being upgraded,” Crawley told the board.

Also included in the proposal are $35,000 for a salary study and $25,000 for an efficiency study.

Supervisors, meanwhile, will consider the schools’ request during budget deliberations this month. Miniclier is expected to present a draft county budget to the board during its March 25 meeting.

A public hearing on the overall county budget is scheduled for April 14 with adoption slated during supervisors’ April 22 meeting.