Contractor: Permit allows removal of 1,950 cubic yards; four days of dredging completed at Ford Park

Zach Jones, owner-operator of Lost Comm Dock & Dredge, told the Harbor Springs Harbor Commission that the company secured a permit in early April authorizing the dredging of about 1,950 cubic yards from roughly one acre of bottomlands at Ford Park and that the permit runs for five years.

Jones said seasonal windows constrained work: a state no-dredge period from May 15 to July 15 meant crews had a short spring window and they completed four days of dredging this year. "The permit approved the dredging of 1,950 cubic yards out of approximately 1 acre of the bottom lands at Ford Park," Jones said, and added the firm placed material in a temporary containment area in the Ford Park parking area — "3 of those containments got filled and removed from the park" — an amount he estimated at roughly 230 cubic yards.

The work, Jones said, also created a more sheltered barge slip positioned farther from the boat launch. He described higher water levels this spring — roughly two feet above winter lows and several inches above last year — as a helpful factor that, together with the short work window, allowed the team to accomplish the initial work.

Commission members asked whether routine maintenance dredging after an initial permit becomes easier to authorize. Jones said, "on my understanding, permitting for maintenance in an area that has previously been permitted and dredged becomes much easier than an initial permit," but he recommended staff verify earlier permit records; commissioners noted a prior full-harbor dredge in 2013 and suggested the older permit should be on file locally and at the state.

Looking ahead, Jones said the company plans to pursue additional dredging in future years, with a preference for fall months when harbor traffic is lower and impacts to park users would be minimized. He estimated long-term work would likely remove fewer than the full 1,950-cubic-yard allowance in a given year — "I think 1000 yards would probably be as many as we would take" — to create and maintain a workable slip at Ford Park.

The commission thanked the presenters; commissioners and staff agreed to follow up on specific boundary and maintenance-permit questions so the harbor can plan proactively for the ferry dock and other areas noted as shallowing.