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Hudson Channel glows in a commercial light

What would you call a government project that exceeded budget projections and still failed to meet expectations?

In the case of the Hudson Channel, it should be considered a success.

"The channel's in better shape than it's ever been," said its leading champion, Al L. Meyer, who lobbied state and county officials for 20 years to complete the dredging project.

Monday-morning quarterbacking from residents griping the channel isn't deep enough or wide enough, or that it fails to connect to individual neighborhoods, is misplaced. Instead, the culmination of a decades-long effort to deepen the 2.1-mile route from Hudson's shoreline to the Gulf of Mexico should be viewed with its original intent in mind: enhanced commerce.

In that regard, the dredging cannot be labeled a failure. Commercial fishing vessels should no longer have to time their trips to the tides. And Mike Malacos, whose family owns Inn on the Gulf and the new Hudson Beach Marina, is indicative of the redevelopment that could follow. Malacos just spent $1-million refurbishing the marina and plans to spend $250,000 to reopen the inn's second-floor restaurant. He told Times staff writer Phil Davis that a quarter of the marina's slips are booked already, even though he has yet to open.

As planned, the channel was to be 5 feet deep and up to 80 feet wide. An extensive mitigation of protected sea grass narrowed the new channel to 40 feet and an unexpected abundance of rocks in some places left the channel only 41/2 feet deep at low tide, still 2 to 3 feet deeper than the original route. The project cost $2.6-million, of which $1.1-million came from the state. It would take close to $2-million more to bring the uniform depth to 5 feet.

If anything, residents might be disappointed because the much-hyped project likely raised their expectations to unrealist levels. But, a deep water path from backyard docks to the gulf was never part of the equation. Plans always called for a maximum of a 5-foot deep channel, which is too shallow to handle large pleasure craft drawing up to 7 feet of water.

Skyrocketing real estate prices nationally mean the financial windfall from rising property values would have occurred in Hudson even without the dredging. More to the point is to see if Pasco's development pattern follows neighboring Pinellas where privately owned marinas are giving way to new condominium construction because of rising land values.

That would be unfortunate. Hudson's relatively short distance from shore to the deep waters of the gulf makes it more attractive for boaters than the meandering routes at the Anclote and Pithlachascotee rivers.

We understand the Hudson Channel is far from perfect. The 40-foot width and raised rocks in some locations mean boaters must be cautious in navigating their way past other vessels. Too, the inability to deepen the path of the public boat ramp at the county-owned Robert J. Strickland Memorial Park at Hudson Beach is disappointing. But the shortcomings are overshadowed by the channel dredging that provides a deeper route while still protecting the environmentally sensitive sea grass.

Commissioner Jack Mariano refers to the channel as a work in progress. He is correct. Expanding neighborhood connector channels to the main channel remains an option. Mariano also is correct in determining how those projects should be financed: assessments on individual waterfront property owners.

The cost of pleasure boating shouldn't include a free ride.

[Last modified September 27, 2005, 02:45:31]