BELLEVIEW -- To help educate the public about a proposed ferry from Rising Sun, Ind., to Boone County, the project's proponents will host a public forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at Kelly Elementary School in Belleview.
"We understand that the residents of that area have some concerns and we'd like to be able to basically present what the (Rising Sun/Ohio County) Port Authority intends on doing," said Jim Carmichael, a real estate agent with First Commercial Realty in Florence who is working on the project.
Carmichael said the forum would address the purpose and reasoning behind the proposed ferry and address any of concerns residents have in Belleview.
The port authority is proposing a ferry that would run from East Belleview Lane in Rising Sun to property on McVille Road (Ky. 18) near Waterloo Road in rural Belleview. In Indiana, the ferry would leave people about one mile east of the Grand Victoria Casino & Resort.
The site would include a public boat ramp where people can launch their boats. Carmichael said it would have parking for about eight cars and trailers.
The port authority is seeking to change the zoning from agricultural estate to recreation on a 4.32-acre site for the ferry's Belleview dock. The port authority is also seeking a conditional use permit to allow for a ferry boat landing.
The Boone County Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing about the project at 6:30 p.m. March 29 in Courtroom Room 3A of the Boone County Administration Building, Burlington.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to give the project final approval.
The port authority would contract out the ferry's operations but own the land used for docking on both sides of the river.
Gary Brett, the port authority's chairman, said the ferry "has a lot to do with traffic convenience for us to be able to go to doctors, schools, hospitals and shopping in Florence."
Currently, the trip from Rising Sun to Florence takes 50 to 55 minutes. With heavy traffic, it can take more than an hour, Brett said.
By taking the ferry, residents would be able to get to Florence in 15 minutes, Brett said.
Belleview resident Barbara Valentour said the ferry would only benefit Rising Sun. She said the ferry would lead to more development.
"You've got beautiful horse farms down here," she said.
Carmichael said the project has positive aspects for Belleview as residents would have access to stores and restaurants in Indiana.
The maximum goal for traffic is 200 cars per day with eight to 10 cars every 30 minutes, according to Carmichael said. He also said the ferry would be open from dawn to dusk.
"We're not talking high traffic," he said. "We're not talking multiple barges."
ADVANTAGES SEEN
Belleview resident Marilyn Newton and her friends travel to southern Indiana for its riverboat gambling and sees some advantages with the ferry.
"To us ... it'll save time. It'll save gas and it's convenient if you have relatives living over there which I do," said Newton who has an aunt and uncle in Rising Sun.
The ferry could begin operations in early 2007, according to Brett.
The only ferry currently in Boone County is Anderson Ferry takes residents from the Constance area to western Hamilton County, Ohio.
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