A group of 10 members of the St. Croix boating community were present at a “Design Presentation and Boating Community Input” meeting held by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources on Thursday at Fort Frederik in Frederiksted to share their ideas for the Krause Lagoon (Molasses Pier) development.
Director of Fish and Wildlife Nicole Angeli said that the department received $1 million to improve the ramp located at the Krause Lagoon. Currently, the ramp is too short, and as a result, vehicles and trailers get stuck off the short end of the ramp.
The initiative stems from a memorandum of agreement signed earlier this year by DPNR and the Virgin Islands Port Authority. The goal is to enhance boating access and comfort for small-scale and recreational fishers at the roll-on/roll-off ramp at the pier.
“There are currently two ramps existing, the one ramp was built by the government and the others built by fishermen. The two ramps are the only safe 365 days of the year public access ramp in St. Croix to access the south shore or even the north shore,” said Angeli.
She said that 50 percent of local fishers land at Molasses Pier, and when they drop off their catch reports, they say the ramps are not serving them anymore.
The key project components include data collection and site condition assessment, public engagement, program and concept development, and creating a master plan vision book.
“The goal of today’s meeting was to get feedback from stakeholders in the community about what they want to see on the site, “said planner Sam Leiban of engineering firm Moffat & Nichol.
“Any plan we propose we want to have the community feedback so we are providing a roadmap for exactly what the community wants or needs instead of dictating to them what we think should happen,” he continued.
Leiban said the meeting was successful as they received pages of notes and feedback. “It’s going to be very helpful moving forward in using that feedback to generate a plan.”
Some concerns raised during the meeting included environmental preservation, security, lack of lighting, and absence of water for cleaning fish, leaving fishermen to clean fish on the dock.
The next step is to internally create some options for the client to review. “We are working towards one final master plan or vision concept for the site,” said Leiban.
“This side of the island is industrial in nature, but its most important feature is that it is the only publicly accessible boat ramp on the entire south shore of the island. This emphasizes the importance of this site and everything that is done here really needs to keep in mind that it is integral to the community and the whole island,” he said.
Currently, Leiban said the priority is to renovate the existing boat ramp. The future plans are to utilize the space while preserving the environmental features to create additional uses on the site.
During the presentation period of the meeting, Leiban showed boaters suggested spaces for future development, which included improved facilities, new community amenities, fishing docks, an actual fish market on site, an environmental education center, pavilions for picnics, shade structures, restroom area and better security.
Leiban said the plan is to gather feedback to create a project program. Three concepts will be prepared for the site, which DPNR will review. Cost information will be received and the design will be finalized based on that.
For further information, contact the Division of Fish and Wildlife at 340-773-1082 ext. 2205 or email DFWElectronic@usvi.onmicrosoft.com.
