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ALTON - The Alton City Council on Wednesday gave its final stamp of approval for almost $1 million in funding to upgrade the Alton Marina as it approaches its 30th year of operation.
The project will replace the current wooden decking with concrete, which marina representatives have stated is more durable and involves less maintenance compared to wood or composite material at a similar price.
Resident Mike Bachelor asked council members to lay the item over, citing concerns that the city was rushing into another costly capital improvement project. Alderman Raymond Strebel said these marina improvements have been over a year in the making following an injury on the wooden decking.
Strebel explained that the council went into Executive Session on July 26, 2023 to discuss the condition of the marina and an incident involving an injury on city property.
“I informed council that there was an incident down there with a participant on city property. We talked about it … I encouraged council to go down and look at the decking, and we realized at that point we need to investigate and discuss different types of decking,” Strebel said. “That injury occurred on July 3, so we’re talking about over a year ago since the injury.”
Strebel said that he, Marina Manager Rob Honke, Planning and Development Deputy Director Andi Yancey, and others met to determine the scope of the project before creating a request for proposals. They received two bids, the lowest being from Stutz Excavating Inc. in the amount of $958,252.
Before getting unanimous approval from the Alton Riverfront Commission on March 26, 2024, to move the project forward, Strebel said Yancey agreed to search for grant opportunities and has since applied for a “competitive” $100,000 grant.
“This has not been shoved down our throats,” Strebel continued. “We’ve done our due diligence, we’ve taken the time. This is public property, we know injuries occurred, we’ve looked at the condition of the docking and if [council members] agree tonight, we’ve come to the conclusion that we have to take action.”
Two related resolutions, including one authorizing the disbursement of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the project and another approving the bid from Stutz Excavating Inc., both passed 6-0. Alderwoman Betsy Allen was absent from the meeting.
More details about the marina project and its funding, including comments from marina representatives, are available in this related story on Riverbender.com.
A full recording of the July 10, 2024, Alton City Council meeting is available at the top of this story, on the Riverbender.com Facebook page, or on Riverbender.com/video. All Alton City Council meetings can also be watched live or on demand on the Riverbender.com Facebook page, Roku app, or YouTube channel.
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