Woes Continue For Sullivan Marina

By John Carswell, Shelbyville Daily Union, Ill.

Jun. 13–Dennis Fayhee, owner of the Sullivan Marina, is at odds with the Corps of Engineers over a large accumulation of logs, trees, tires, and other material that has jammed his marina, making it impossible for many of the boat owners to get out on the lake.

The log jam and resulting odor has also hurt the restaurant business at Skeeters, located at the end of the marina. “People used to sit out there in the evening and have a drink and enjoy the scenery,” said Fayhee. “But just look at it now.”

Fayhee purchased the marina once known as Fox Harbor out of bankruptcy in March of 1995 and is the third or fourth owner.

Since that time, Fayhee says he has had problems with large “glacier-like” moving plates of ice, boats stuck in mire from low water levels, and now literally tons of debris which have poured down the Kaskaskia River and into his area following the recent flooding.

Last year Fayhee filed a lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers alleging damages to docks and piers were caused by the Corps maintaining water levels that were too low during the winter. A dry spring failed to bring Lake Shelbyville to normal summer pool, leaving boats grounded for some time.

This year, there is too much water but Fayhee insists the problem is not high or low water, it’s a matter of protection.

“The problem is the same, whether the water is high or not. We are in a river channel and I have learned that a protective harbor is required on four sides to prevent this kind of problem from happening. The other two marinas at Findlay and Lithia Springs don’t have the same problems as we do because they are in protected harbors,”said Fayhee.

Ricky Raymond, Operations Manager at the Corps of Engineers at Lake Shelbyville says he sympathizes with Fayhee, but there is nothing they can do. ” Right now he (Fayhee) has the big log jam there, and since this is on his marina, it is within his lease. At present, there is no immediate threat to life and limb or impending environmental catastrophe.”

Fayhee disagrees, and said that conditions are unsafe and that the debris is so thick that “people can actually walk on it.”

Raymond responded, “No doubt about it, it’s a big mess for him and his customers. But it is his responsibility to supervise activity at his marina. If people are doing unsafe things, he should shut it down like we did. At our parks, some areas are unsafe and we closed those off. It is the same situation there. If he feels conditions are unsafe, he should take measures to shut that portion down or police it to keep people off.”

Fayhee’s complaints originate with the lease agreement which he says does not tell the whole story, “The Corps didn’t make full disclosure in the lease agreement by any means. They approved the marina for that site knowing full well there wasn’t enough water depth and it was unprotected from the east. So they solicited, issued it and approved the plans. There is a reason there are no logs and no moving ice in the other locations. They are protected. I didn’t ask for this location, the Corps solicited the general public for a marina in this specific spot. “

Raymond said that Fayhee should have known what to expect before he bought it, “The Sullivan Marina is on the Kaskaskia River channel and the other marinas are not. As I understand it, Dennis was not the original owner. He bid for and purchased It when it was called Fox Harbor. Before Fayhee bought the marina, like buying anything else, he should have talked with the previous owner about problems he had experienced there. “

Raymond also says that Fayhee hasn’t personally taken any measures to remove debris, “He is not really taking any action and has indicated to me that he has no plans to take any action to clear it up. He expects us to do it. I know a couple of boat owners pulled some of the debris out so they could get their boats out, but Dennis hasn’t taken any action.”

Fayhee owns the marina, docks and all other physical structure. He leases the area from the Corps whom he says approved the plans for the marina. Fayhee feels the Corps should have pointed out the potential problems up front. “I had an engineer of considerable reputation, Fred Hunt of Columbus, OH, who submitted a report to the Corps two years ago basically saying, ‘This (marina) should never have been leased and can’t survive without protection.” Fayhee said the St. Louis Corps District told him ‘We can’t concur.’”

Raymond said that most of Fayhee’s problems are simply due to changing weather conditions and the location of the marina, “Since he is on the channel, whatever comes downstream from the Kaskaskia is going to come his way first. In order to have a protected harbor for Sullivan, a breakwater would basically have to wrap entirely around his facility. Even if it was on the upstream side, it would still wash into his facility. I have talked with some of his patrons and they say it is the worst they have ever seen. This is not a routine occurrence, not something that happens ever year.”

“The water is 11 feet over the road,” said Fayhee pointing to a light fixture sticking about a foot above the water. “That was the road.”

Nancy Cruitt, one of the owners of the Lithia Springs Marina said that Fayhee is not the only one with problems, “We have some debris but not to the same degree as Sullivan. But we all have problems. We are under water and you can’t walk to the docks, we have to ferry people back and forth. There are trees floating in the middle of the lake here and the power is out to some of our boat slips where the houseboaters are. Power won’t be back on for them until we get back down to 614. If the water goes higher, we will have to shut off power to the other 200 slips. Dennis has his problems with the debris and we can’t walk to our docks. This affects everybody.”

Fayhee raised another question, “If we were somehow able to remove all this debris, where would it go? Downstream somewhere?” He pointed to Lake Shelbyville, “Out there is where people are skiing. We don’t want it out there. There would be broken props and skiing accidents all over the place.”

Raymond agreed that it would pose a problem, “It is a hazard, and there are already numerous logs and trees in the lake that are a hazard to boaters. We are asking them to be on the lookout. In a high water situation like this, there is naturally going to be a lot of debris as well as a lot of submerged material. The debris from the Sullivan Marina would go into the lake, down into the Bo Wood area and toward the dam. It would follow the currents and wind, and most of it will settle on the shoreline as the lake starts to come back down. Not that much will actually make it to the dam.”

Raymond said that once the larger logs are broken loose, the rest should follow.

Raymond added, “Lake Shelbyville was built as a flood control lake. That is its number one priority. Recreation and environmental stewardship come next. The lake is doing exactly what it is designed to do right now. It is holding the flood waters back. All the farmers downstream have their crops planted and up. If they lose them now, there will not be another opportunity to re-plant. It will be a lost season. We are always going to try and prevent flooding downstream because this affects a lot more than agriculture. There are homes which would also be affected.”

Fayhee contended, “If you can’t trust the Corps of Engineers judgment, who can you trust? All I want is the facts out. They have abandoned me and betrayed me.”

Bob Swinford of Champaign moors his Chris Craft at the Sullivan Marina, “I come down every weekend. It was logged up pretty bad last weekend too, but I came back down anyway because I was meeting with clients in Mattoon. I am just looking forward to getting my boat back out on the water again.”

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