CLERMONT, Fla. — The long wait for a bigger and better public boat ramp in Clermont is about to come to an end.
- Clermont approves $2.5M contract for boat ramp construction
- Contractor Traverse Group should begin work next month
- New boat ramp expected to be open by the end of the year
On Tuesday night, the City Council unanimously approved a $2.49 million contract with Traverse Group Inc. for construction of the boat ramp.
According to officials, area boaters can expect the new launching venue and bathroom facility — located just east of Waterfront Park — to be up and running by the end of the year.
The Clermont-based Traverse Group will begin construction next month. The company’s bid beat out two others.
Plans to move the existing boat ramp from its current location began years ago, when the city began mapping out a master plan for its downtown area.
The purpose for the move was to shift motorized watercraft away from the nonmotorized watercraft that launch from the Clermont boat house, which is home to the Lake County Rowing Association and the Clermont Sailing Club. It is also located adjacent to the Victory Pointe stormwater treatment plant and Triathlon Beach, which diminished boat ramp parking spots.
Design plans for the ramp are based on feedback from community groups and an advisory committee made up of local residents and boaters. That came after original plans to move the ramp to the west shore of Lake Minneola at Lake Hiawatha Preserve were derailed by two lawsuits and an administrative appeal of the city’s boat ramp permit.
In April 2018, the decision was made by the council to go with the Waterfront Park location on the southern bank of Lake Minneola, known locally as the former Bell Ceramics site. The new ramp will double the number of launch pads from two to four, increase parking from 77 to 102 spots, add about eight to 10 mooring slips for peak traffic and have new restrooms.
A bypass will be created to reroute the South Lake Trail around the boat ramp for safety.