OCALA, Fl (352today.com) – The Marion County Board of County Commissioners received an update about the Heagy-Burry boat ramp project at Orange Lake at their meeting Tuesday, March 17, 2026.

The project is located at the south shore of Orange Lake, on what is referred to as McIntosh Bay.

The recent activity shows that the boat ramp approach is completed, the road base is completed, and the finished site grading is underway. The enhanced septic system has been installed, and the site lighting is completed. The project is to be completed by April 9, 2026.

A change order on the agenda was approved by the Marion County Board of County Commissioners revising the contract for construction. This change order increases the value to address the floating dock pile system and the construction contract to April 9, 2026.

When the lake is low, this is the only dock that provides access to the lake, said Jim Couillard, Marion County Parks and Recreation director and landscape architect. The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings boat ramp in Alachua County is going to be shutting down soon because the water levels at the lake are very low. That has to do with a lack of rainfall over a number of years.

The initial grant that the county received was in May 2021, with a grant end date of April 30, 2024. The original grant value was $969,264. The grant contract was amended in April 2024, extending the deadline to Dec. 31, 2025. No additional funds were added to that contract, and then on March 17, 2026, the county approved a grant that reinstated that original grant, as it had fallen out of time, allowing for the grant to be extended (just the grant paperwork and not the contract paperwork as related to construction). The second amended grant end is Nov. 30, 2027.

There’s also an FWC, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. However, the focus is on the construction contract, with that being the goal, said Couillard.

‘The reason that they extended out to 2027, that provides the opportunity to wrap up construction, go through all of their as-built certifications with the multiple permitting agencies through Marion County, Alachua County, St. John’s River Water Management District and the Corps of Engineers, then covers the process of moving into operations, said Couillard.

There is a funding source and a grant with the FWC, which is for the waterfront improvements. The county’s part of funding is for the park improvements upland. There has been some confusion because even though the grant paperwork has been extended, the county wants to make certain that the project is done well but also goes past the one-year warranty the county gets on these improvements, so the funding process is still in place.

The opening day for the boat ramp will be April 9, otherwise there will be extremely severe penalties put on the contractor. There are very high liquidated damages in the contract, with the liquidated damages beginning on April 10 if things aren’t done.

The funding breakdown for the project:

FWC Grant Information

  • The grant through the U.S. Department of the Interior (Sport Fish Restoration Act)
  • Federal Share: $989,264
  • Non-Federal Share: $1,879,110
  • Budget Total: $2,848,374
  • Total Encumbered: $2,823,893
  • Available: $24,480