ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / March 22, 2000

LAPLACE – St. John Parish President Nickie Monica said that the Peavineboat baunch at the end of Peavine Road will be closed for the next two weeks for renovation and refurbishing.

The parish’s only access to Lake Ponchartrain is in bad shape, according to Monica.

“The silt has built up in the channel and boats are hitting the bottom,” said Monica.

Parish workers will extend the rock jetty some 200 feet and dredge out the channel between the boat ramp and the lake to make it easier for boats to get out.

Right now, the channel is so shallow that boats have to race full-speed out of the channel to avoid getting stuck on the bottom.

Parish workers will also extend the concrete ramp into the water so that bigger boats will be able to be launched with hitting the bottom.

“We’ve already got a grant to do all the work,” said Monica, “and all we will be spending money on is materials.”Monica sees the renovation of the Peavine boat launch as the beginning of more development on the lake.

“We need to do this for recreation and economic development,” said Monica, “so that people can relax at the lake, and also so that shrimpers and fishermen can get access to Lake Ponchartrain.”As part of the reclamation process, Monica said his administration is in negotiation with the people who own the land where the launch is located.

Right now, the parish leases the land from the owners, and Monica would like to buy the land.

“This is to protect the investment of the boat launch,” said Monica.

He would also like to get lighting out there and extend the jetty even further. The lake is eroding the St. John Parish coastline by about a foot ayear, and Monica added that extending the jetty will increase the silt which will increase the shoreline.

“We can’t do anything out here until we control the erosion,” Monica said.

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