Village has shot at state funding for canoe launch

Saukville officials said Tuesday they hope to find room in the 2020 village budget to pay for installing a kayak and canoe launch in Peninsula Park.

Village Public Works Director Ray deBruijn told trustees they have an opportunity  to obtain a state Department of Natural Resources grant that would fund half the cost of developing the launch site.

DeBruijn said the launch would be at the eastern end of East Clay Street, which forms the northern border of the park, just south of the East Green Bay Avenue bridge.

There are about a dozen parking spaces already available near there, he said.

DeBruijn did not have an estimate of how much developing the launch site would cost.

Village Administrator Dawn Wagner said the launch is in the village plan but funds for it have not been set aside.

To apply for state matching funds, deBruijn said  all that is required is a resolution from the Village Board and a photo of the site where the launch would be located.

Engineering, drawings and permitting for the project would follow after the grant is awarded, deBruijn said.

The grant is available for two years, “so if not in 2020, it can be in the 2021 budget,” deBruijn said.