Banner Creek receives $40,000 grant for docks

Banner Creek Reservoir will benefit from a $40,000 grant from Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to purchase several new docks at the lake.

John Kennedy, Banner Creek Reservoir director, informed the Jackson County Commissioners Monday that the county has received the state department’s Competitive Development Grant for the reservoir.  

The grant is a matching grant, and the commissioners have agreed to allocate $40,000 to $50,000 in county funds towards the purchase of the docks. The docks will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. 

“In the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be bringing you information on different styles of docks and potential locations so we can basically decide what we want,” Kennedy said. 

In the grant application, Kennedy requested funding for six new docks but noted that the county wasn’t required to install that many. 

“I would like to see one in the swim beach area,” he said. “I think that would be a real good addition to that area.” 

He also noted that at least one of the docks should be installed on the south side, with at least two on the north side. 

In the past, the commissioners and Kennedy briefly discussed purchasing paddleboats, kayaks and canoes to rent to those visiting the reservoir. 

“We might want to build a little marina with some slips so if people want to pull in they could,” he said. “They also have kayak launching racks and ramps.” 

Kennedy said it may take a couple of meetings with the commissioners to determine what docks would work best for the reservoir and where they should be installed.

Beside the initial cost of the docks, the commissioners and Kennedy agreed that some funds will need to be set aside for the construction of abutments and for deadman anchoring systems. 

“Once we get into the plans a little more, we’ll have more accurate numbers of what this is going to cost the county,” Kennedy said. 

The commissioners said the grant will help the county continue to make improvements at the reservoir.

“We need some decent docks out there,” said Commissioner Rob Ladner. “And they need to be ADA compliant.”

Once the docks are in place, Kennedy said that sidewalks will have to be built, giving visitors direct access to them. 

“We’ll have to put in a parking place that’s handicap accessible and then we’ll have to put a sidewalk from that parking place to whatever we place the dock,” Kennedy said. “So that’s obviously going to have some influence on where we place the docks.”

The grant funds must be used in the next year. 

“My goal is to have everything installed by next spring,” he said.