DOT Grants River Access To Emergency Boats, Explains Why Ramp Is Closed

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The boat ramp in Derby is owned by the state DOT and is under the Route 8 bridge connecting Derby to Shelton.

DERBY — Officials from the state Department of Transportation have agreed to install a gate at a downtown boat ramp so that emergency crews can access the lower part of the Housatonic River.

But DOT reps said the ramp, which had become increasingly popular for area boaters, will not be opening to the public — because the ramp was never meant to be open to the public in the first place.

It was never a public boat launch nor was it ever intended to be a public boat launch,” Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the DOT, told The Valley Indy last week.

In May the state put barriers in front of the boat ramp, which is under the Route 8 bridge, a move that took the public by surprise because a year prior the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen had created a permitting process for the boat launch. 

Non-residents could get a permit for $100. Derby residents could get a permit for free.

City police were authorized to issue $125 tickets to people who showed up with boat trailers without the proper permit.

But Derby didn’t own the boat ramp — nor does the city own the parking area around it.

The ramp, it turns out, was owned by the state DOT, and was only meant to provide water access for DOT crews or contractors inspecting or doing work on the Route 8 bridge connecting Derby to Shelton, a structure that sits directly atop the boat launch.

Derby officials simply were not aware of that fact.

City Of Derby

The application to get a permit for a boat trailer.

A funny thing happened after Derby legislators created the permitting process. A DOT contractor arrived to make repairs to the bridge received a $125 ticket — and random boat trailers from the public blocked the contractor’s ability to get into the water.

Derby fined the DOT contractor working on behalf of the Connecticut DOT working on our bridge, using our boat ramp, all of which is DOT property,” Nursick said.

Plus, state environmental officials were getting complaints from the public about the ramp’s poor condition — complaints that were passed to the DOT, where someone finally asked, What the heck is going on here?’

The agency sent a letter to Derby saying the boat ramp was closed.

Andrew Baklik, chief of staff for Mayor Rich Dziekan, said once Derby learned the city did not own the ramp, all fines and permits were refunded. The signs warning about the fines at the boat ramp were also removed.

The $100 permits weren’t a cash grab. Derby legislators had hoped it would cut down on the number of people using the ramp to get into the Housatonic River. It had become a popular spot because it was free access.

But putting up barriers at the boat ramp created a public safety concern. Various emergency responders, such as the Derby Storm Ambulance and Rescue Corps — used the ramp to respond to emergency calls on the lower Housatonic River.

The barriers meant Derby had to travel to Shelton to get into the water, or notify Shelton crews to respond to calls that came in for Derby.

Storm Ambulance raised the issue at an Aldermen/Alderwomen’s meeting in June. The situation would add to response time, not something that’s ideal when responding to an emergency on the water.

Eventually the city and the DOT worked out a deal where the state agreed to remove barriers and install a locked gate for about $1,500 or so. Derby will get a key.

Derby legislators were entertaining a lease agreement, but Nursick told The Valley Indy Friday that the DOT would simply install the gate and foot the bill. The gate should be up by the end of this week.

That’s good news, said David Lenart, acting chief of Storm Ambulance.

Lenart said that growing up, he remembered his grandfather, Ed Cotter (a founder of the city’s ambulance service), saying the boat ramp was for the DOT — but that emergency crews had been allowed to use it, too.

Lenart said the barriers were adding time to a call that is time sensitive.”

More issues are on the horizon, though.

Derby, through the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, has a $325,000 federal grant to build an ADA-compliant fishing pier off the shore of O’Sullivan Island, not far from the boat ramp.

That project will need the DOTs cooperation, because the agency owns the parking there now (which technically is not supposed to be public parking).

Baklik said the city will be working with the DOT to address the issues.

Finally, Nursick, the DOT spokesman, noted the boat ramp is in poor shape. But it meets the DOTs needs, even in its current condition.

Marc Garofalo, the Derby City/Town Clerk, sent an email saying Derby issued 16 boat ramp trailer permits for $100 each to non-city residents in 2019. That money was refunded.

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