Repairs will be done to the only public boat launch on Pipestone Lake in Bainbridge Township now that the Berrien County Board of Commissioners has received a permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
Speaking to colleagues Thursday, Commissioner Jim Curran said the repairs have been held up for a while.
“We were waiting on EGLE for the permit before we can move forward, and we have that and now we’re moving forward,” Curran said. “So, I think that’s a good thing.”
Commissioner Jon Hinkelman tells us the boat launch has become unsafe since falling out of repair. He says the Berrien County Road Department installed the launch years ago, but for a while, there were questions about who actually owns it. It was eventually determined Bainbridge Township owns the launch, but the county had to secure the necessary permits for repairs to be made. Now that it has, the township will foot the $17,000 bill to get the launch back in good, working order.
Hinkelman says the issue goes back a few years, but now that it’s all been settled, “hats off to the township” for working with the county because that launch is important to the boaters that use Pipestone Lake.
