Tom Kish sat on his Tarentum boat dock Wednesday and watched 20 years of work, dreams, money and family memories go up in smoke.

Friends helped him dismantle a wooden roof from his 28-by-24-foot deck and toss it into a fire along the Allegheny River shoreline.

“This was a happy place,” said Kish, former mayor of Brackenridge, who has been boating in Tarentum for more than 20 years.

“We were down here every day, every summer.”

Kish is among a group of leaseholders racing to beat an Oct. 31 deadline set by Tarentum Council to remove items from the river and its shoreline.

His dock, like many others, was equipped with amenities such as a tiki bar, refrigerator, sink, picnic table and chairs. It was a place where friends and family gathered regularly.

“We always had people ask us if they could take prom photos here,” he said. “I even married a couple on the deck once.”

Council in August voted to eliminate boat docks until the borough has a finalized riverfront development plan, which could someday include public and private docks, a public fishing pier and a walking trail.

They said the area is mired with safety hazards, a lack of state permits and an electrical code that’s two decades out of date.

On Tuesday, Tarentum Council said people could get an extension to April if they sign an addendum.

But that wasn’t worth it to Kish, who said the worry would be hanging over his head all winter.

“This is 20 years worth of stuff,” he said. “All that would do is push it ahead.”

At one point, Kish leased three spaces at $700 each. He estimates he paid the borough $35,000 over the years.

• Tarentum boaters say borough deadline to retrieve docks is 'impossible' • Tarentum boaters have until Oct. 31 to remove items from boat docks • Boat dock leases terminated in Tarentum • Tarentum Council turns off utilities at boat docks until safety restored

Several boaters voiced their frustration to council this month, saying the work to haul sheds, decks and bars from the riverfront would take much longer than two months.

Jonas Shearer of Fawn told council that his family started boating in Tarentum in the 1970s. He was among those who asked for leniency to remove items.

Ray Fortuna of Fawn told council that spring is a much easier time to sell used docks. He said if people are forced to pull them now, they might have to scrap them.

Kish said salvaging his construction was not worth the time and effort.

“It would take six months to disassemble all these boards and rebuild it somewhere,” he said. “I can’t move all this stuff. Burning it was the best way I could see to do it.”

As it was, it took eight hours to remove the shingles from the deck roof and haul them up the hillside.

Brian DeFelice, Kish’s friend who helped with the labor, said there is weeks of work to come.

It means Kish and his family will lose the last two months of the boating season.

Wednesday afternoon, the riverbank was quiet, except for the teardown of Kish’s dock.

His wife, Cindy, said she will miss all the neighboring boaters who became like family over the past two decades. She also lamented that her grandson no longer will be able to spend his summers on the dock, as he had for so many years.

“They killed the vibe down here,” she said. “It was so nice for so long.”

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