* Five weeks late, $100,000 over budget, critical water link between 62,000-acre subdivision's 126 canals and Charlotte Harbor will open before Thanksgiving

SOUTH GULF COVE -- The South Gulf Cove lock's gates will swing open five weeks late and $100,000 over budget -- but they will open on Nov. 20, county officials said Wednesday.

"We are trying to get it open sooner," project manager Brian Barnes said. "It will be open on or before Nov. 20."

The lock was scheduled to open Oct. 13 after Coastal Marine began work in September on a $130,000 project to remodel and automate the lock's control system.

However, in early October, after 6-foot deep water was removed from the 80-foot long lock, workers uncovered barnacles, debris and damage to pintle base anchorages and seal plates on the bottom of all four of its gates.

Underwater spans of two steel gates were also found to be so corroded, the county's Public Works Department determined new steel sheets had to be welded to the face of the gates.

The work could not be done on site, prompting a five-week delay in the lock's scheduled reopening -- and adding $100,000 to its cost.

The lock repairs were approved by Charlotte County commissioners in November 2005.

The work is being financed by the South Gulf Cove Waterway Municipal Service Benefits Unit, which added 10,181 "dry lots" to the 15,437-lot assessment district in July.

As of Oct. 1, the start of the 2007 fiscal year, 5,258 waterfront lots will pay $50 a year while "dry lot" rates -- fees assessed parcels not along a canal -- are $25 annually for canal and lock-system maintenance.

County MSBU representative Tara Musselman said the delay was not necessarily surprising.

Area boaters "were all aware of it," she said.

"The problem," Barnes said, "is with the very dark water in the (Myakka) river and the canals. You can't see what is below the waterline. You have to dry it out to see. After we got it dried up and cleaned out, we found the additional damage."

"You can't see what is on the bottom of your coffee cup until you drink it," Musselman added.

She said while most area residents have been understanding, she has received "so-so" flak from boaters and others who have not been able to get in or out of the canal system.

"The boatyard has had some issues because people cannot get their boats out," Musselman said.

"It is really not difficult to fix. It's a standard lock," Barnes said." The work we are doing now should keep it from having to be closed for five to seven years."

South Gulf Cove Waterway MSBU Chairperson Clarence Brosmer did not return phone calls Wednesday.

The lock is the pivotal link between the 62,000-acre subdivision's 126 canals and the Interceptor Lagoon, which leads to the lower Myakka River and Charlotte Harbor.

{mos_sb_discuss:13} Life in Paradise or not

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