Vic Pearsall would be pleased.
When the 60-plus year Cochin entrepreneur passed away in 2011 at the age of 96, the bulk of his estate was willed to charitable and not-for-profit organizations. Among several bequests was one for $20,000 to be left to the Battlefords Wildlife Federation.
With some volunteer labour and a common goal, the scope of the project the bequest touched off has already exceeded its original vision.
Overlooked by the former Pearsall home is a site originally developed by Pearsall, a pilot for 76 years, as a place to tie up his float planes. Today it's the busy and sometimes congested Murray Lake boat launch, with one dock and a fish filleting shack. Thanks to Pearsall's bequest, that congestion should be lessened now that it is host to two docks, one of which arrived last week, increasing the number of launches possible at one time from two to three. That's not all there is to the project, however, even though the instigators themselves didn't realize the potential until work got underway.
Brad Dahl of the Battlefords Wildlife Federation told the Regional Optimist at last week's dock installation the organization took some time to mull over what might be a fitting project to undertake with Pearsall's bequest. The idea of improving the boat launch saw them enter into an agreement with the Resort Village of Cochin to expand the project beyond a simple capital investment.
The original goal of the project was to make the boat launch a more efficient place, allowing for a new boat staging area and second dock to ease congestion, while making it more accessible to people with disabilities and to the elderly. As site preparation work got underway with the clearing of bush and trees, it became clear the area could be further developed as a day picnic area, a place where families could come to spend the day.
"As we got started as volunteers, we got looking at it," said Brad Pattinson, Cochin's mayor. "On the resort village side of the issue, there's no place for somebody to just come and have a wiener roast with their kids, other than the main beach, which really isn't a good place to try to sit and have a picnic."
As they started to clear the bush, said Pattinson, they realized there was more they could do with the area so people could come out for a few hours and enjoy the weather and the view.
"So, originally it was 'let's fix the boat launch,'" said Pattinson, "and as we got down here it was, 'boy! we can do a lot more than just fix the boat launch.' If you talk to us next spring, there'll probably be a whole bunch more stuff we want to do."
While project participants are already looking two or three years into the future, the main event for this year occurred Thursday evening when a truck arrived from Warman with a six-foot wide, 36-foot long solid aluminum roll-in dock worth $10,000. Transported in three pieces, the dock was assembled by Dale Kaup of Western Boatlift with the help of volunteers at the site. It was rolled into the water just as the sun went down.
The new dock was a hit with the group gathered last week for its installation. Made of solid aluminum, it requires next to no maintenance, and the whole thing can be rolled out of the lake at the end of the season without having to dismantle it. It is held in place by the weight of its six wheels, which fill with water when in the lake. The height and level is easily adjusted topside with a cordless drill. The design also eliminates the side to side sway common with other docks, including the dock already at the launch.
Concrete pads to go beside the dock are already on site, but not yet installed.
"With any shoreline alterations, you have to have a permit," said Dahl. The area is a federal migratory bird preserve.
It's all part of an overall plan that will eventually include an eight by 12 foot deck that will make the new dock wheelchair accessible, a five-foot wide 73-foot long boardwalk overlooking the water and a 32-foot long ramp from the new parking area to the boardwalk. A memorial cairn will also be erected dedicating the boat launch to the memory of Saskatchewan Order of Merit recipient Pearsall.
"It's going to be a huge improvement and fitting dedication to him," said Pattinson.
As of the arrival of the new dock, there had already been two work bees during which trees had been cleared away to widen the access road and make way for a staging area, and more bush and trees had been cleared away for a new parking lot.
Dahl said the design and new signage will discourage frustrating line ups by directing boaters to a designated staging area after pulling their vessel from the water. There they can get their boats ready for travel without blocking use of the turnaround or launch areas by other boaters.
The filleting shack, which is located in the middle of the turnaround area, above a septic tank, will probably be moved, perhaps next year. Pattinson envisions moving it up the slope and off to the side of the approach road, from where a drain pipe could be trenched to the existing septic tank. There would still have to be something to mark the centre of the turnaround, so people can come around, then back into the water, said Pattinson, but at least people unloading their fish wouldn't be holding up traffic.
Additional lighting will probably go in next year as well, said Pattinson.
Dahl described the Victor Pearsall Memorial Boat Launch as an ongoing joint commitment made by the Battlefords Wildlife Federation and the Resort Village of Cochin. The federation is providing capital through the Pearsall bequest, as well as volunteer labour, and the resort village will be responsible for site work such as grading for the parking lot and staging areas and for ongoing maintenance.
The initial estate of $20,000 is providing the infrastructure, said Dahl, but the in-kind contribution of the Resort Village of Cochin adds another $15,000 to $20,000 value to the project, and that's before factoring in the value of 240 to 300 volunteer hours being put in by wildlife federation members. Those hours represent a significant amount at the "going rate," said Dahl.
"But we don't think of it that way," he said. "It's just something you gotta do."
The project will have longevity as well through the contract with the resort village, said Dahl. The capital expenditures fund as set up in the agreement can be topped up by applying for funding available for fisheries enhancement projects, allowing for ongoing leverage for capital costs at the site.
"It's long overdue," said Pattinson. "We weren't even cutting the grass as a village. It's an important asset to the lake, to all the businesses and all the cabin owners, to have a really good boat launch. It makes people want to come here."
