Ken and Helen Foltz agreed Thursday to go above and beyond with their marina project, hoping to set an example for future boat washing stations at lake accesses.
Owners of River Hills RV Park, the Foltzes are asking to increase the number of slips on their inland marina from 28 to 60. So far the planning commission and the community development committee have approved the request, with the stipulations that they get the required permits from the Pelican River Watershed District and that they post signs at the landing, telling people to wash their boats before putting them in the water.
Up the hill from the landing, Foltzes have agreed to install a heated pressure washer for boaters to clean their boats if they have been in another lake.
"We're willing to be the guinea pig on this wash station," Ken Foltz said.
He said that they are more than willing to cooperate with the Department of Natural Resources to be a test site for the wash. He agreed to pay up to $3,000 for the wash station, and if it would cost more, they may seek public assistance, like from the DNR.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We're willing to be proactive. Our lakes are our biggest asset," he said.
Water temperatures must be at least 140 degrees to kill zebra mussels. Once they are washed off, the Foltzes agreed to have a holding basin to catch the dead mussels being washed off boats.
Foltz said there likely won't be a large amount of traffic at the washer simply because when people come to the RV Park, they are there for the summer.
"This is their lake home. They bring their boat and stay there."
The wash would mainly be used for people who have taken their boats out of the marina, put them in a different lake and then returned to Pelican River, on which River Hills is located.
"I appreciate and commend you guys for doing that," Alderman Bruce Imholte said during the community development committee meeting Thursday afternoon.
"It's a start and hopefully can be used as a prototype," Foltz said.
A final vote on the slip increase request will come before the Detroit Lakes City Council on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
