City increases dock capacity at Mozingo

By Phil Cobb | May 29, 2015 |

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Dylan Rogers, left, and Moriah Strein of Tradewinds Distributors prepare install the final segment of a new marine dock Thursday morning near the main boat ramp at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.

Boaters and anglers at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park have some added parking space for their watercraft following this week’s installation of a new dock adjacent to the main boat ramp across a small cove from the recreational vehicle campground.

The polyethylene EZ Dock-brand structure was purchased from Tradewinds Distribution in Altamont and set in place Thursday by Tradewinds’ Moriah Strein and Dylan Rogers.

Last summer, the Maryville City Council budgeted $40,000 for purchasing the new dock, with 45 percent of that cost covered by an $18,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The remaining city match totaled $22,000 and included “in-kind” contributions by municipal crews comprising pier and sidewalk extensions and a railing upgrade to a handicap-accessible walkway.

According to Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland, Tradewinds/EZ Dock has provided several of the existing marine facilities at Mozingo, including docks serving the RV campground and the “city” boat ramp, which is located north of the main or “state” ramp.

The new dock can handle about 16 boats and consists of connected 6-foot sections designed to accommodate expansion and reconfiguration.

In accepting the LWCF grant, the city agreed to limit nearly 180 acres of Mozingo parkland to uses related to “public outdoor recreation” as defined under National Park Service regulations.

That means while the grant funds were awarded with some strings attached, the list of allowable uses is still fairly broad and embraces facilities such as the RV campground and rental cabins.

Excluded, however, is any type of major commercial operation, such as a lodge or meeting center.

The city-owned recreation area’s master plan calls for eventual development of a hotel or lodge at the lake, but sites the lodge, if one is ever built, on or near the Sechrest 18 golf course, which is located southeast of the protected area.