Senate advances $500,000 this year to finish Bear Lake State Park marina; seeks $1M next year

Senator Lyle Hilliard pressed the Senate to finish a partially completed expansion of the Bear Lake State Park marina, saying the project needs $500,000 in the current fiscal year and $1,000,000 the next to be completed. “It is vitally important that we get $500,000 in this fiscal year so they can complete that work,” Hilliard said during floor remarks.

Hilliard told colleagues the Legislature had provided roughly $1,000,000 last year to begin the expansion, and that the original project estimate was about $2.6 million. He said excavation and dike work are already partly done and that a funding gap risks crews leaving and creating additional re-entry costs. “If we don't appropriate a half a million dollars necessary to finish that part of the project and have that done, the crew will have to pull out of the work,” Hilliard said, adding a pause could cost about $200,000 to re-mobilize equipment.

The sponsor described why the work matters to local economies: when the marina provides reliable access to the lake it draws visitors whose fees and spending support area businesses. He and other senators asserted the enlarged facility should cover its costs through user fees within about 12 years.

During debate senators asked about the total appropriation and whether the amount requested this year was a one-time payment or part of a multi-year request. Hilliard said the current request is $500,000 this year with an additional $1,000,000 requested next year to complete the work, for a $1.6 million request to finish remaining construction. He also criticized the absence of this item from the governor’s recommended budget, saying he was surprised the administration did not include funding.

The Energy, Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee had reported the bill favorably. The Senate voted to place the measure on the third-reading calendar; the clerk recorded the vote as 26 ayes (reported on the floor). The bill will next proceed through the normal legislative sequence for possible final action and appropriation decisions in later floor consideration or conference with the House.

The debate included references to local testimony and economic impact in Rich County; Hilliard said he planned to bring local officials to the body in a subsequent week to describe the marina’s importance in more detail.