City seeks grant for new Mozingo dock
CITY OF MARYVILLE IMAGE
A proposed Land and Water Conservation Fund grant administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources would provide partial funding for a proposed new 12-slip boat dock at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park just south of the existing Recreational Vehicle campground.
The Maryville City Council on Monday heard a report from municipal staff with regard to a proposed new 12-slip boat dock to be installed in a cove along the south edge of the recreational vehicle campground at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.
According to Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland, who has been assigned overall responsibility for park operations and development by City Manager Greg McDanel, the city has been working with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on a grant that would cover a little less than half of the dock’s $40,000 cost.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund grant would require designating about 177 acres of parkland as protected under the provisions of section 6(f)(3) of the federal legislation that created the LWCF program.
Essentially, that means the acreage could only be used for “public outdoor recreation uses” as defined under National Park Service regulations.
Heiland said Monday that while the grant comes with certain strings attached, the definition of “recreation uses” is fairly broad, so the area could still contain a number of different kinds of facilities.
In addition to the RV campground, the acreage is already home to a number of docks and cabins along with a couple of boat ramps and fish-cleaning stations, all allowable uses.
What would be excluded, however, is any type of major commercial facility, such as a lodge or meeting center.
Several council members have long expressed a desire to see such a development at Mozingo, but current plans call for siting the lodge, if one is ever built, on or near the golf course, which is located southeast of what would be the Park Service-protected area.
Also, McDanel said, there are provisions for allowably developing the restricted parcel if the city is able to offer a similar tract as a new recreational area under the 6(f)(3) provisions.
Should the grant go foward, $18,000 would be funneled through Missouri DNR, and $22,000 would be required from the city in matching funds, a 45/55 percent split. The use of “in-house” labor and materials, however, would likely reduce the city’s actual cash outlay.
