De-Watering:   Friday July 11, 2008 We started De-Watering the marina basin. As of July 18 the basin has been pumped down to just a few feet of water remaining in the main channel ways. Attached are a few pictures.   The electric shock boat used to collect and move fish            There will be more posted on the department web site in the coming weeks.   The Ohio Division of Wildlife was on site July 17, with the electric shock boat assisting in collecting and moving native fish from the marina basin into Lake Erie.   We continue to work with Ohio EPA and the US Army Corp of Engineers to assure compliance with our permits. This next week, we will finish the dewatering and we are planning to start removing parts of the center peninsula.   The north parcel is our first site area to have marina materials placed in.   As we begin the deepening and shaping of the marina basin large equipment will be moving across Fox Rd. and throughout the construction zone. Please help us have a safe project. Drive / Bike carefully.
	Lake Erie Water Snakes:   We have relocated 250 snakes so far during this project. We appreciate the effort of Kristin and Keith who sincerely put forth the effort to keep us on track with this aspect of the project - protecting an endangered species.
	Dock Construction:   The project construction bids submitted by various contractors were "opened" July 10, 2008. There were several bidders and it is encouraging to see the interest in the project. We hope to have the "low bidder" chosen this next week.   Next Open House: Scheduled for July 28, 2008 3:00PM - 4:30PM Just on the south side of Aunt Irma's in the shade. Thank you, Scott Doty Regional Manager Lake Erie Islands state Park

ALL:
Just a brief note for everyone on a few things.
 

	De-Watering: Friday July 11, 2008 We have started to De-Water the marina basin. We continue to work with Ohio EPA and the US army Corp of Engineers to assure compliance with our permits. This is great news as we can now proceed in preparing for the "heavy" work in the marina basin. Once this is de-watered we will begin the cleaning and deepening of the marina basin to a depth of 10 feet. We will also start shaping the basin to the new design plan as we have been depicting over the last couple of years. As we begin the deepening and shaping of the marina basin large equipment will be moving across the Fox Rd. and throughout the construction zone. Please help us have a safe project. Drive / Bike carefully. The Ohio Division of Wildlife will be assisting in collecting and moving fish from the marina basin into Lake Erie, as we get it pumped down.
	Web Page: We have appreciated Mike Gora's interest and assistance in posting information on the Middlebass.org web page. I have received comments back expressing appreciation for this. I hope Mike feels the information worthy to continue to post. Thank You Mike. I have mentioned we would have an ODNR web site in the future. Well it has happened. Here is a direct link to ODNR's Middle Bass Island State Park web page. You can see the design "sketch" here if you click on the tab "Photos". http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/middlebass/tabid/766/Default.aspx  Webmaster's note: The pool shown in the design sketch is not a swimming pool. It is a vernal pool.
	Lake Erie Water Snakes: We have relocated 240 snakes so far during this project. We appreciate the effort of Kristen and Keith who sincerely put forth the effort to keep us on track with this aspect of the project - protecting an endangered species.
	Dock Construction: The project construction bids submitted by various contractors were "opened" July 10, 2008. There were several bidders and it is encouraging to see the interest in the project. We hope to have the "low bidder" chosen this next week.
	Elevated Storage Tank: The elevated water storage tank for the state park's water system is being advertised. We plan on having a contractor chosen for this part of the project this fall.   Next Open House: Tentatively Scheduled for July 28, 2008 Afternoon time to be announced. As an added bonus :) for those that may be interested this is a link for the home page for all of the Ohio State Parks. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/80/Default.aspx  Thank you, Scott Doty Regional Manager Lake Erie Islands state Park

received and posted June 23, 2008

All:

Dock Construction:  The new dock construction "Pre-Bid" meeting was conducted 6/20/08.  We had approximately 50 people in attendance.  We extend a Thank You to the Ottawa County Visitors Bureau in allowing us to use the conference room at their facility. Interested Contractors are to have their bids submitted by July 10, 2008.  We anticipate it will take approximately 60 days to give the contractor awarded the job, their notice to proceed.  New docks will begin to be built. This means that next summer we will see new docks in the marina.

Marina Construction:  Continues De-watering of the marina basin is the next big step we are preparing for.  This will start the beginning of July.  The East wall of the marina had been breached this past winter.  It has been "shored up" to allow pumping to start. The pumps are being, (have been), placed.  Here is a picture taken fall of 2007.  Fall water levels are normally lower than spring and summer, water levels.  This picture shows the lower fall water level.  During "normal" water levels - waves are washing over the steel and through the gaps in the steel plating.  You can see here how the marina walls, made with this material, are collapsing.  This material and construction is found in several areas including the marina entrance channel.                 The de-watering program is starting later than we had hoped.  The reason for this delay was weather and permit related.  The cold spring, and the later than anticipated ice thaw, not only resulted in the ferry boats delaying their start-up, it also slowed our contractor getting equipment to the island as well.  Permits also have influenced our timing of de-watering, as they determine the "window of time" we can do "in-water" work.  There is a restricted window starting April 15 through June 30 related to the spawning season of fish.  Once we are past this restricted window we can begin to de-water the basin.  The contractor anticipates de-watering the entire basin will take a week to 10 days.   Special note: The Construction Zone is considered anything within the Snake Fence .  Please remain outside of the fenced area as required by safety regulations of construction sites.   We currently anticipate having people from our Division of Wildlife on-site July 7, to help remove fish as the basin is de-watered.

The Open house conducted June 6,  on the island was well attended.  We had an estimated 25 - 30+ people stop by and talk with some of our group between the hours of 3P and 6P.  We were a little late getting started, (arriving).  We appreciated your patience with us.

Several questions that seemed to be asked more frequently than some others were: The marina will be deepened to 10 feet of depth The project is still on track with the marina to be usable next summer The marina will have a design capacity of around 340 slips, we will be planning on starting dockage of close to 240 (includes the yacht club) Seasonal dockage will be a part of the marina dockage plan.  We will plan another open house next month. The clearing of areas for future fill sites is done.

	Dock Construction Bid:  The contract is to be advertised June 17th.  This is how we notify possible contractors who may be interested in the job so they can submit a bid on the project.
	Burning:  We have completed all burning we had planned to do this spring.  There will be no more burning until after September 2, 2008.
	Our Lake Erie Water Snake Team has caught 130 snakes so far since construction started in May.
	The contractor will be having stone delivered in the future.  Some of this stone will be the large stone referred to as "armor stone".  Armor stone is usually stone of a size that weighs 4 - 8 tons each and may be as large as 6' to 8' around.  A picture of one such stone is below if you wish to look at one. The bulk of the large stone is for the breakwalls and revetments. The project calls for a quantity of about 33,000 tons of ODOT "C" stone through 4-8 ton armor. ODOT "C" Stone is about 12" x 12".  LaFarge (Quarry in Marblehead) has about 5,000 tons of armor produced for the project (about 20%). As for the smaller stone sizes the majority of that product is produced and currently available.

	The contractor has put steel plates on Fox Road where they are crossing over the road.  This will protect the roadway from the heavy equipment crossing it.  There are 3 crossing areas; 1 by Aunt Irma's, Just North of Jim Roesch's former marina and next to St. Hazards.  Signs will also be coming warning of truck crossings.  A few other safety barrels will be erected for safety.  We ask everyone to remember to drive carefully through the construction zones & remind others as well.
	Lake Erie Water Snakes - LEWS Kristin has  a full time LEWS specialist, Keith Hanson.  Keith will be on the island working alongside the contractor checking snake traps and where the heavy equipment is working within the snake fenced area.  Keith and Kristin will be relocating any snakes found within the area to areas outside the fenced construction zone.  We welcome Keith to the project.  If you see snakes with some colorful paint markings (blue or green). These are ones they have relocated. Raccoons seem to be very inquisitive creatures wanting to see if things are truly greener on the other side of the fence.  We have found where they are climbing or tearing the fence to get on the other side.
	The snake fence is also a construction safety zone fence.  We ask everyone to stay outside of the construction zone.
	A new person for on-site contact regarding construction concerns is Rob Stanley.  Rob is working for BBCM, our Consultant with this part of the project.  Rob is available for you to contact on the island with questions or by cell phone 614-578-8266.  You are also welcome to contact me as in the past with questions.
	Marina de-watering will begin by the end of the month.  As this happens we will ask that you remain outside the construction fence for safety reasons.  We will be posting pictures in the future of the progress as it happens.
	Mike Gora has allowed our notes here to be posted on his web site, Middlebass.org.  You can find notes there as well.  We have a date the Ohio State Park web site will be up and running, June 15 or shortly there about.  We hope to use this site for all to see specific updates about the marina.

	Dock Construction Bid:  This document is all but done.  There are a few corrections to be made to the final draft and then signatures.  We should see the document released in the next few weeks - providing there are no hitches.
	Water and Sewer Lines:  The planning is nearing completion. This project includes the construction of an elevated water tower.  The design and capacity specs. will be for the current use demands for LEU and the park.  We are also incorporating design features that will allow for future expansion or decreases in tank size, based on future water demands and regulations dictate.
	Electric Utility:  Service and supply design is underway
	Buildings and other infrastructure:  We are putting information together for architectural planning to start.
	Burning:  We have been permitted to burn.  The contractor has been working on this aspect of the project.  Burning is permitted through May 25 and then after September 2, 2008.
	Lake Erie Water Snakes - LEWS Kristin has  a full time LEWS specialist, Keith Hanson.  Keith will be on the island working alongside the contractor checking snake traps and where the heavy equipment is working within the snake fenced area.  Keith and Kristin will be relocating any snakes found within the area to areas outside the fenced construction zone.  We welcome Keith to the project.  If you see snakes with some colorful paint markings (blue or green), these are ones they have relocated. They have caught 30 snakes so far since construction started a few weeks ago.
	The contractor has put steel plates on Fox road where they are crossing over the road.  This will protect the roadway from the heavy equipment crossing it.  There are 3 crossing areas; 1 by Aunt Irma's, Just North of Jim Roesch's former marina and next to St. Hazards.  There is a bump to these currently.  Some cold patch will be used to soften the approach.  Signs will also be coming warning of truck crossings.  A few other safety barrels will be erected for safety.  We ask everyone to remember to drive carefully through the construction zones & remind others as well.
	The snake fence is also a construction safety zone fence.  We ask everyone to stay outside of the construction zone.
	A new person for on-site contact regarding construction concerns is Rob Stanley.  Rob is working for BBCM, our Consultant with this part of the project.  Rob is available for you to contact on the island with questions or by cell phone 614-578-8266.  You are also welcome to contact me as in the past with questions.
	Marina de-watering will begin by the end of the month.  As this happens we will ask that you remain outside the construction fence for safety reasons.  We will be posting pictures in the future of the progress as it happens.
	We are planning on hosting several "open houses" this summer on the island for opportunity to answer questions and show the revised master plan and construction plans.
	Mike Gora has allowed our notes here to be posted on his web site, Middlebass.org.  You can find notes there as well.  We have a date the Ohio State Park web site will be up and running, June 15 or shortly there about.  We hope to use this site for all to see specific updates about the marina.

I, along with several others, officially met with the contractor's crew on Middle Bass Island Monday May 5, 2008.  As promised last week I would be giving a more detailed update this week regarding the project.  There are still things being worked up so I doubt this note will answer all the questions, but it will give you a heads up.

	The contractor has started erecting the snake fence for construction.  Parking:  I have asked for your help with this item before and it seems we still need to get the word to several people.  Parking in the field along the south side of the old runway next to Fox Rd. is not permitted.  We are trying to establish the snake protection fence for construction.  The longer it takes for this to happen - the longer some construction start-up is delayed.  If you know of anyone parked in this area, please contact them to move their vehicle.  Options are Roesch's parking area.  Any assistance in this matter is appreciated.
	Once the snake fence is established The Snake Lady, (Kristin), and her crew, will begin relocating the snakes from within the construction zone to outside the zone.  Kristin has shared they will be marking the snakes with either a Green or Blue paint.  This will help them determine habits of the snakes they have relocated and if there are any getting back in.  Once Kristin has had time to relocate the snakes from the construction zone she will allow construction to start in the marina area.  Again - emphasizing the importance of getting the cars moved  & the fence completed.
	De-Watering of the marina basin.  This will begin in 2 or 3 weeks.
	Tree rubble burning - The contractor has coordinated with the EPA, permits have been done, if there is any burning to be done this spring it will be done before May 21.
	The contractor has a crew of just a couple people this week to start the fence.  Over the next several weeks this will increase to a dozen or so people.   The closed off marina channel will be used for the equipment barge to anchor in.  It will be arriving soon.  The barge will be going & coming as it will be used to haul supplies & materials from the mainland.  Docking in this area is prohibited. As has been arranged with the county engineer's office construction can be underway seven days a week.  Heavy equipment on the roads will be restricted to Monday through Friday mornings.  This we hope will alleviate concerns regarding the weekend traffic problems.
	The Lake Erie Water Snake is still listed as an endangered species.  There has been evidence of intentional harming of one of these protected snake.  I would like to remind all of the protected status of the snake and we also share this with island guests so they are aware of this as well.
	If you have questions or comments feel free to drop a note back.

Thank you,