Have you had a chance to go down to the port and look at all of the sand that has built up at the northwest corner of the marina? Last week, when there was nearly a minus 3-foot tide, I was there. Standing on A dock, you can really get a look at what has been happening.

For the last 15 or 20 months, I have been telling you that we are “getting close” to having the elusive dredge permit. Well, my friends, the Army Corps of Engineers just told us that everything is ready and they are sending us the document. Whoopie!

You may have also heard that we are expecting one of the best chinook salmon runs in recent history this year, followed by a great coho season and perhaps some sockeye passing by too. Crabbing for those delicious Dungeness crabs has also gotten off to a stellar start this year.

So, are we going to close things down and bring a big dredge barge into the bay? Well, not just yet. First, we have to transplant a lot of our eelgrass from the dredge zone over to our “nursery” outside of the breakwater.

So, as of today, (two weeks before this gets published) we will be advertising for bids in August and setting a project time around November. That should give all of the anglers out there a chance to fill their freezers. Actual closures of the marina during the time of the dredging will be quite minimal and should not interfere with much recreational boating activity at all.

We have had some great dancing and foot-stomping music to kick off the Concerts on the Cove series. It is just great to see so many families enjoying this great event. The Kingston Rotary Beer Garden also continues to be an iconic piece of our summertime fun down at the port. It’s hard to believe but I think the events committee of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce has been bringing us this great schedule of concerts for more than five years now. Each of the concerts that you enjoy is brought to you by local sponsors and contributors.  A list of those folks can be found at the chamber office.

By the way, have you visited the new chamber office in the North Star building on Washington Boulevard?  Stop in and say hi to the volunteers there.

OK, let’s get nautical. You know the term “footloose and fancy-free”: Well, the word “footloose” comes from the term for the bottom of the sail that is known as the foot of the sail, which must be attached to the boom. If it is not properly attached, it may become footloose, causing the vessel not to sail properly. “Footloose and fancy-free” has come to mean someone acting without commitment. I hope that more than just a few of you are having a great footloose and fancy-free summer.

Here we are again at the edge of the page so have a wonderful month enjoying our well-deserved sunny days

— Pete DeBoer is a Kingston port commissioner. pete@petedeboer.com.