Oct 14, 2015 2 min read

Washington County will be administering a $136,612 grant from the Commonwealth Finance Agency to add low-profile kayak and canoe docks on the Monongahela River in Charleroi, Fredericktown and Monongahela.

Trying to board and balance a motor-less watercraft can be a drenching experience, but the stability that the docks are expected to provide lends itself to both able-bodied and disabled boaters.

In Greene County, Greensboro dedicated the same type of river access point in August.

Paddlers can place their craft on a ramp with rollers and push off from railings that EZ Dock’s website calls a “dry launch and recovery” system made in the United States. The firm is based in Grand Island, N.Y.

The county commissioners are expected to ratify the purchase at their meeting Thursday morning.

The county plans to hire a firm that will design landscaping for the areas surrounding the docks, which could be in place as early as next year.

Lisa Cessna, executive director of the Washington County Planning Commission, said there are low-profile docks at Ten Mile Creek, where Marianna Outdoorsmen Association constructed paths, and Cross Creek county parks.

West Brownsville Borough also is compiling a plan for its riverfront that is expected to be completed this spring, Cessna said.

In another matter related to recreation in Washington County brought up Wednesday, Cesna said a pipeline company will be boring beneath .3 acres of the Panhandle Trail.

It will pay $11,050 for an easement.