Lake Cumberland Soon may have floating cottages

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Soon Lake Cumberland may offer floating cottages (not necessarily powered like the one LFM has lol see also viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3980)

http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/Media/New ... erlan.aspx

NR 15-022: Corps rolls out guidance on floating cabins at lakes in the Cumberland River Basin



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Posted 6/17/2015

Release no. 15-022


Contact
Bill Peoples
615-736-7161
[email protected]

or
Lee Roberts
615-736-7161
[email protected]




NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 17, 2015) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued new guidance on floating cabins at its lakes throughout the Cumberland River Basin. The guidance implements Section 1035 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 that allows floating cabins at marinas on Cumberland River Basin lakes.

Under the new guidance, marina operators will be able to rent floating cabins to the public who recreate on Cumberland River Basin lakes.

“I am very proud of our outstanding commercial marina concessionaire program in the Nashville District,” said Mike Abernathy, chief of the Nashville District Real Estate Division. “This is an example of how we partner with our marina operators to create additional recreational opportunities within our district boundaries.”

In order to inform the public about the new floating cabin implementation guidance, the Corps is holding four public meetings at the following locations and times:

Nashville, Tenn. – June 22, 6-8 p.m. at the Metropolitan Police HQ Public Building, 3701 James Kay Lane, Hermitage TN 370076

Somerset, Ky. – June 29, 6-8 p.m. at the Center for Rural Development, 2292 US-27#300, Somerset, KY 42501

Eddyville, Ky. – July 1, 6-8 p.m. at Lee S. Jones Convention Building, Eddyville, KY 42064

Baxter, Tenn. – July 2, 6-8 p.m. Upperman High School, 6950 Nashville Hwy., Baxter, TN 38544

The public is invited to attend the public meeting nearest to their lake. Each meeting will provide the same information to all attendees.

Abernathy said marina operators will ultimately be renting these floating cabins to the public after their floating cabin development plan is approved by the Corps. When marina operators submit proposals, the public will have the opportunity through the NEPA process to provide comments concerning floating cabins. These opportunities may be in the form of written comments submitted to the District concerning a proposal addressed in an associated NEPA document and/or public meetings as needed.

The implementation guidance seeks to ensure the safety and structural integrity of any floating cabins by requiring the completion of annual inspections and health and safety checklists. It is a paramount goal of USACE to provide safe and healthy recreational opportunities on its projects. More information on floating cabins is available on the Nashville District web site, http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/About/Org ... abins.aspx.

(The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps or http://www.facebook.com/lakecumberland, and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps.)


Cabins at Marinas Cumberland River Basin Cumberland River Basin Lakes Floating Cabins Nashville District Reform and Development USACE water resources WRRDA

http://www.somerset-kentucky.com/news/f ... 99c1b.html

COttages.png (57.83 KiB) Viewed 3851 times

[Nervous Wreck]

Really! Where would some of the marinas locate them?

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Lees Ford has the perfect setup where I believe they would put them around Potato island. The other Marinas I am not sure but I would expect maybe they could replace some of the derelict houseboats that never leave slips. lol

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http://www.kentucky.com/2015/07/18/3950 ... ators.html

Lake Cumberland marina operators object to federal regulations on floating cabins

By Bill Estep

[email protected] 18, 2015 Updated 12 hours ago


Hurt by the recession and a water drawdown for dam repairs, marinas at Lake Cumberland hope for a revenue boost from floating cabins. HERALD-LEADER
SOMERSET — Marina operators were pleased about the potential for a new business opportunity when Congress authorized floating cabins last year on lakes in the Cumberland River basin, including Lake Cumberland.

Now, however, some operators are objecting to guidelines on the cabins set out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which administers the lakes.

The concern is that the rules are too strict and costly to meet, making it harder for marinas to capitalize on a chance to boost revenue after years in which the recession and other factors hurt business.

"It's overreach by the Corps," Michele Edwards, executive director of the Kentucky and Tennessee marina associations, said of the rules.

The operators are mounting an effort to get the rules changed through comments to the Corps and appeals to members of Congress.

Mike Abernathy, head of the real-estate division for the Corps district that covers the Cumberland River Basin, said officials are discussing comments received at public meetings about the cabins.

There may be opportunities to clarify the rules, which are designed to protect health and safety on the lakes, Abernathy said.

However, the basic rules the agency put out were intended to be final, he said.

Floating cabins are just what they sound like — small houses that sit on hulls in the water.

Lee's Ford Resort Marina, on Lake Cumberland in Pulaski County, has one that measures 575 square feet on the first floor and 364 square feet on the second, with a 15-foot-by-20-foot deck and sleeping capacity for seven or eight people, according to the marina.

J.D. Hamilton, president of the marina, had the cabin built before the Corps of Engineers rules came out.

The cabins are not as large as many houseboats. Their primary purpose is overnight habitation, not recreational boating as with a houseboat, according to the Corps' definition.

The cabins don't have to have motors, but they can be fitted with them.

On-water cabins for years have been allowed at some lakes, including Corps of Engineers lakes in Kentucky controlled by the agency's Louisville district such as Green River Lake in Taylor and Adair counties.

However, the Corps of Engineers district based in Nashville had not allowed them on the 10 lakes it controls along the Cumberland River, which stretches across southeastern and southern Kentucky, curves through central Tennessee and then turns north through Western Kentucky.

That changed last year.

At the urging of marina operators and others, Congress directed the Corps of Engineers to allow floating cabins at marinas in the Cumberland River basin. The language was included in a bill authorizing the agency's work.

Hamilton said he and others were looking for a way to increase business after some lean years.

Visitation at Lake Cumberland suffered after the Corps made an emergency decision in January 2007 to quickly lower the water level because engineers said leaks under the earthen section of Wolf Creek Dam, which impounds the lake, created a high risk of failure.

In addition to causing costly work for marinas to move docks and utilities, the drawdown, which lasted for years, created a false perception for some people that there wasn't enough water left at the lake for boating and waterskiing.

The steep national recession that began in 2008 also hurt at Lake Cumberland and other reservoirs in the basin.

There were 11 commercial marinas on Lake Cumberland before the drawdown. Several closed, went through bankruptcy or were forced to sell because of financial problems.

Other businesses dependent on the lake suffered as well.

The Corps of Engineers allowed the water level at Lake Cumberland to return to the normal summer level in 2014 after contractors built a massive concrete wall inside the earthen dam to cut off leaks.

Hamilton said floating cabins have the potential to increase overnight visitation.

That's important because a tourist who stays overnight spends seven or eight times more money than a day visitor, not just on lodging but things such as food and gas, Hamilton said.

"The key economic driver is overnight visitation," said Hamilton, who also is president of the Kentucky Marina Association.

Marinas typically have cabins or lodges, and also rent houseboats, but floating cabins have been a popular option on some lakes, said Edwards, head of the Kentucky and Tennessee marina associations.

Hamilton said the cost of renting a houseboat can be thousands of dollars for a three-day stay, putting the chance to stay overnight on the water beyond the means of many people.

Marinas can rent floating cabins for less, in part because they cost far less to build, Hamilton said.

The floating cabins could bring more money for marinas at a time when there are still empty boat slips at Lake Cumberland and elsewhere, Hamilton said.

"We're just saying let us innovate and create," he said.

It will be harder to do that under the rules put forth by the Nashville Corps of Engineers office, some marina operators say.

The agency drafted the rules — called "implementation guidance" — to carry out the law Congress passed.

Hamilton and Edwards said marina operators have cited several concerns, such as a rule that floating cabins would have to be served by separate docks, adding to the cost of putting them in.

Adding floating cabins would require a lease renewal — unlike adding houseboats — and operators understand they would have to pay the Corps of Engineers for that process, Edwards said.

In addition, operators would be required to begin paying all employees a federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour under a lease revision to add floating cabins — another added cost, Edwards said.

Yet another provision would bar renters from waiving marina operators' liability for the acts of the renters, Hamilton said.

The rules also would bar marinas from renting a cabin to anyone for more than 30 days in any period of 60 consecutive days, with the same limit on renting a slip to the owner of a private floating cabin.

That would essentially bar private ownership, because no one would want the expense of moving a cabin every 30 days, Hamilton said.

Marina operators argue many of the rules are unneeded because under the law, floating cabins would have to meet Coast Guard safety and other specifications.

"It's just the totality of it" that makes the Corps guidelines onerous, Hamilton said.

The rules differ from those the Louisville district of the Corps of Engineers has for floating cabins on lakes it oversees.

For instance, several of the 11 floating cabins at Green River Marina, which is on Green River Lake, are privately owned, and there is no rule requiring them to be moved periodically, said marina manager Dustin Martin.

The Corps' Abernathy said the rule against long-term rentals for floating cabins on Cumberland River reservoirs is part of the ban on private, exclusive use of the lake.

"We operate and maintain the lakes for the benefit of the recreating public," he said.

Abernathy acknowledged there are different rules for floating cabins in different Corps of Engineers districts.

The Nashville district developed rules for the Cumberland River basin in response to the law passed last year, which was specific to the Cumberland River basin, he said.

The rules include a provision under which marina operators could seek variances, he said.

Abernathy said marina owners won't have to get new leases to add floating cabins, but will have to amend their leases.

Abernathy said there was support for the rules at some public meetings. At least two marina operators said they would submit requests for cabins, he said. Those operators were not on Lake Cumberland, he said.

Bill Gary, with Green Turtle Bay Resort & Marina on Lake Barkley, said the Corps of Engineers rules could be seen as too demanding, but that an official said the agency would work with marina operators.

"All opportunity has caveats," Gary said.

Still, Hamilton said there shouldn't be as much red tape to achieve what federal lawmakers intended to let marina operators do.

"It's just a common-sense approach that ought to be Mom, God and apple pie," he said. "We're just trying to open up access."

Bill Estep: (606) 678-4655.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/07/18/3950 ... rylink=cpy

[re3too]

IMHO...Hamilton is more about the $$$$$ than "opening access".

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duh. lol