OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford The boat launch ramps at the Dunkirk Pier are still stacked up for winter, but there’s a push to get them deployed earlier than usual.

A local fisherman pleaded with Dunkirk officials last week to get the pier boat launch and marina opened earlier than usual this year.

Jim Steele addressed a meeting of the Common Council’s Economic Development Committee. He stated that after a relatively mild winter, local anglers want to head out on ice-free Lake Erie as soon as possible.

He noted that the nearest harbors — Sturgeon Point near Hamburg and Barcelona near Westfield — are currently closed. Barcelona Harbor is set to be dredged, but that is planned for July.

Until Barcelona reopens, “There’s going to be a lot more boat traffic (in Dunkirk) than ever,” Steele said. “Triple the amount of boat traffic as normal.”

DPW Director Randy Woodbury noted that Dean Marine dredged the harbor last fall.

“The extra traffic in Dunkirk is an opportunity we’re going to take advantage of. Roll out the red carpet and showcase the city,” he said.

“The ability to get boats in early is going to be one of the big issues,” Steele said. “As soon as the boat ramps and the docks go in, people will use them.”

He asked Dunkirk officials to push the marina, which is privately leased, city-owned property, to open earlier than normal. “Normally Memorial Day is the big weekend for them, but that’s for pleasure boaters,” he said. Many anglers want to get out on the water earlier than that.

Woodbury told the OBSERVER that the ramps “usually go in with the marina operator crew and their work barge, we will push for expediting because early benefits them too as they get the launch fees.”

At the meeting, Woodbury noted that the city has a Lake Erie Management Commission grant available to reimburse for tearing out the old, abandoned docks near Memorial Park. Dean Marine hoped to do it after the dredging last fall, but ran out of time before the weather turned and they had to bow out, he said.