Stan Folsom, owner of Doc’s Outdoor Sports and Recreation, is sweetening the pot in his effort to open a marina on McPhee Reservoir.
He’s a man on a mission, the type of character needed to navigate the federal regulatory process.
Folsom prefers to install his ready-to-go marina, at House Creek, a cove with a boat launch and campground.
But he told Montezuma County commissioners and U.S. Forest Service officials that he’s willing to operate a public marina at the McPhee boat ramp where one burned in 2001.
“I’m very serous about it, I have the equipment and the experience,” he said. “House Creek makes more sense, but I’m willing to go either place, or both.”
Folsom operated a marina at Vallecito Reservoir and wants to relocate to McPhee because its boating season is a couple of months longer.
Another hurdle is a 400-foot breakwater that awaits installation at the ramp. The breakwater’s anchors and winching systems are specific to McPhee’s lake-bed topography, but government agencies are struggling to find someone to install it.
The breakwater can be adjusted for changing water levels and shorelines. It would need to double in size to be most effective at the open-water, windy location at McPhee.
Folsom offered to install the breakwater as part of his marina permit.
District Ranger Derek Padilla said a marina would require a bid process. Whether the breakwater installation could be part of the marina bid would need to be researched.
Environmental analyses are needed before a marina is installed .
Folsom plans to have a mobile fueling station, a store, boat rentals and boat slips at his marina.
“I’m saying give me a chance to bid on it, because I am ready to go,” he said.
