WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) — Wakulla County commissioners will consider purchasing the property at the Lake Ellen boat ramp to restore public access, with the item on the agenda for the Monday, October 5th meeting at 6 p.m.
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While the county holds a right-of-way in the area, the land on the northern end of Lake Ellen Drive is actually private property. A primitive boat ramp at the end of Lake Ellen Drive is a spot neighbors have used for swimming and boating for years.
According to the agenda item, the property owners hold a fee title for the northern portion of Lake Ellen Drive where the boat ramp is located. They constructed a fence over portions of the lake, which effectively "boxed in" the boat ramp. The county engaged in negotiations about the possible purchase of the property from the current owners to reopen public access.
Many neighbors in the area say they would love to have the ramp back. Neighbor Dwayne Johnson said the spot was more than just a place to swim — it was a gathering place for the community.
"Us neighbors, we'd go down there. We would even grill, swim. Our children learned how to swim in that lake. Fish, you know, it was like a piece of God. You know what I'm saying? Like, like God's country," Johnson said.
Dallas Lively expressed hope the county would act to create access for the next generation.
"If there's one thing you can do, make an access point for these kids around here. They can grow up and do what I got to do around here and have fun," Lively said.
Lively, who has lived in the area his whole life, has fond memories of the lake.
"Going there all the time with my myself, my friends, growing up there, rope swing, fishing. It was something we did all the time. There was a little beach area we used to hang out and play with, and it was just something that was fun for me and my family to go do, and that's something I wanted to do with my kids growing up," Lively said.
With the ramp being on private property, neighbors haven't been able to use it the way they once did.
"It's been hard because it gives us nothing to do. I mean, that was a place we could go walk right there and go do it, and now we got to drive to go do it somewhere. And that was something secluded, peaceful," Lively said.
Lively says the county should do what it can to bring that public access back.
The options before the board at the October 5th meeting are either continuing negotiations to purchase the property around the ramp or closing the water access.
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