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[CycloneDaddy]

Here is the e-mail I got from them today regarding the situation:

Dear Marina Customers,

Due to the unsafe condition the boat ramp the Army Corps of Engineers has determined to close the Saylorville Lake Marina boat ramp for public use. This means that the general public will not be able to use the ramp, this includes marina customers. Saylorville Lake Marina staff will be able to continue using the ramp for marina operations. So the marina staff will be able to launch your boats from the ramp when necessary.

If you launch your own boat and have not gotten it in the water already you will be required to use another boat ramp on the water or have marina staff launch it for you. There will be a fee of $55.00 to launch your boat from the marina ramp. This fee is for boats that are on their own trailer. The Army Corps of Engineers are going to recognize our season boat ramp passes so if you are going to have to use another please contact the office and we will provide you one. Please contact the marina office to schedule your launch or to answer any questions that you have.

The ramp will be closed to the public until it is replaced. The boat ramp is the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers and it is not in their budget to replace the ramp at this time. It will take congress to approve the $944,000 needed to replace the boat ramp. The marina needs you to contact the state senators and representatives and voice your concerns about the boat ramp closure. This helps them recognize the importance of the boat ramp and speed up the process. Please forward this information on to other boaters that you know.

The boat ramp is needed not only for lake access, which this is 1 of 3 open when the lake floods but it is also used for emergency personnel when there is an accident on the lake. With the closure of the boat ramp the response time will be increased which could mean life or death. Please talk to your congressional members about these issues and any others that you can think of. I have included the contact information for the local congressional members.

Congressman Tom Latham
Michele Wing Mustain 1421 S. Bell, Suite 108A
Michele.mustain@mail.house.gov Ames, IA 50010
(515)232-2885

Senator Charles Grassley
Aaron McKay 210 Walnut Street
aaron_mckay@grassley.senate.gov 721 Federal Building
(515)288-1145 Des Moines, IA 50309

Senator Tom Harkin
210 Walnut Street
733 Federal Building
(515)284-4575 Des Moines, IA 50309

Congressman Leonard Boswell
300 East Locust, Suite 320
Des Moines, IA 50309
(515)282-1909



Thank you for your cooperation is this matter and sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions or concerns please feel to contact me.