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08/14/1996MARINE ADVISORY BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER August 14, 1996 Present: William Held Harbormaster David Smith Member David Hemerick Acting Chairman Donald McFarland Member David C. Martens Member Edward Dohrman Member Absent: Ernie Cline Member (excused) Bill Wilhelm Member (excused) The meeting was called to order by Acting Chair, David Hemerick, at 8:04 a.m. at the Marina conference room, 25 Causeway Boulevard, Clearwater, Florida. In order to provide continuity for research, the items will be listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 1. Introduce Brenda Moses, New Board Reporter for the City Harbormaster Held introduced Brenda Moses as the new Board Reporter for the City. She will be taking minutes at all future Marine Advisory Board meetings. 2. Welcome new Member, David Smith Mr. Hemerick welcomed David Smith as a new member. Mr. Smith gave an overview of his background. A motion was made by Mr. Dohrman to approve the July 10, 1996, minutes, duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Fence on Sand Key Mr. Held distributed handouts to members. A fence has been installed at a cost of $4,500 underneath the Sand Key bridge. It has a passenger entrance on the east side of the fence. Fishers can fish the seawall from underneath the Clearwater pass bridge over to the compound area. The fence blocks fishers from getting into Sand Key Park. An emergency gate is located on the east end of the fence to allow Parks and Recreation personnel entry to the area. Multiple fishing piers may be considered for the fenced area, because of its popularity. Discussion ensued about the need to construct a fishing pier now that fishing is possible under the Sand Key bridge. It was noted fishing was always done in that location, and the fence was just a security measure, and does not effect whether or not a pier should be constructed. Next year’s budget includes $200,000 for construction of a fishing pier at Clearwater pass. The money has been put into a capital improvement project, but no plans or locations have been established. Mr. Held will invite engineers involved in construction for the new pier to meet with the board at the September or October meeting. At that time, questions can be addressed. A 15 foot pier for the area in question could be constructed from wood pilings by marina employees, after state permitting is obtained. It was noted the city of Venice, built multiple piers rather than one long fishing pier. 4. Marina & Pier 60 Business Plan The Fiscal Review Committee, which is the budget arm of the City, approved submission of both business plans to the Commission, with the addition of caps on CPI increases. It was suggested incorporating the 3% minimum CPI increase in leases, but excluding a maximum percentage to allow room for unexpected situations. The first presentation of the marina business plan was reviewed at the Commission work session on August 9, 1996. One of the major concerns was the wide variety of percentage increases, as well as one instance of a 100% increase. Slip rents are tiered, dependent upon the number of passengers a vessel can carry. Some six pack boats will incur $25 per month increases, and larger dinner boats may experience increases up to $285 per month. Although the proposed increases appear excessive, past years’ rental rates were extremely low, and these increases will bring rates into line with rates charged by other municipal marinas. The Pier 60 business plan will be presented at the September 5, 1996, Commission meeting. It was noted the Marine Advisory Board previously endorsed the Pier 60 operation to be changed from an enterprise fund to a general fund activity. Subsequent to the Commission budget work session, it appears the change will be approved. An incident was discussed regarding a parasail tenant who subleased a slip without the consent or knowledge of Mr. Held. Docking permits clearly state subleases are not permitted. The person subleasing the slip sued the tenant and lost. The tenant paid the City $250 per month, and subleased the slip for $1350 per month. After careful consideration of other marina rentals, Mr. Held felt the proposed increases were still low. A comment was made that reviewing rates within an established policy is different from the concept of charging tenants dependent upon their profits, which is a form of income taxation. Dinner cruise boats, six pack boats and others’ books should also be scrutinized in order to justify the concept. It was noted some marinas charge large dinner boats a fixed rental charge, and in some cases charge a CPI, a percentage of sales, and a passenger tax. The marina determined accounting to support such charges would be too costly to implement and maintain. The increased charges have been lobbied by interest groups, and an attorney will attend the next Commission work session on behalf of the groups. 5. Cable Television at the Marina August 12, 1996, a television set was installed in the lobby of the marina. Boaters can view the weather channel before departure. Lines are being laid to docks by a local cable company to offer tenants cable service. Tenants can call Time Warner to schedule service. Transient boaters receive free cable television. A question arose about the status of the pump out station. Mr. Held stated the marina pumped 2,500 gallons of sewage from 37 boats, which helped decrease pollution levels in the harbor. Quarterly reports are sent to DEP on pumped out sewage the number of boats utilizing the marina. Only people that are serviced at attended fuel docks are recorded. Others can use unattended docks and read the instructions listed on boxes and hoses. The pumps stay on for 2 hours, and must be reactivated after lack of use. All boaters, regardless of membership status, are offered free pump out service. Years ago a wind gauge and directional anemometer were located over the door entrance at the marina. A question was asked whether another one could be purchased in its place. Mr. Held said the old anemometer had been donated by one of the party boats. There is a weather station on Pier 60 which was installed by the National Weather Service. It has an extremely accurate LED read out. Anyone can call the pier attendant to obtain information on water and air temperature, wind speed, and direction. At the City Commission work session, parking on Memorial Causeway was discussed. Rich Baier’s diagram displayed a parking lot with 46 metered parking spaces. The Commission asked Mr. Baier to obtain feedback from marina attendants and tenants to determine their feelings on an additional overflow parking lot on the other side of the bridge. The engineer estimated costs would be $100,000 for a paved lot with meters. The bicycle path would have to be redirected. Mr. McFarland made a motion the board renew their support and urge the City to proceed with a minimum surface treatment, such as a lot constructed with paving stones, for the proposed overflow parking lot. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. An unpaved lot would save the City approximately $40,000. It was noted some board members were not in favor of the current freeze on commercial tenant parking. Mr. Held added a requirement in the business plan for lessees and their employees to park in the Memorial Civic Center lot, or any other lot designated by the City. Other discussion ensued concerning marketing plans. Coast Cruising Magazine contacted Mr. Held. The magazine will publish a full one-page article in the November/December issue about the City of Clearwater. Mr. Held will obtain extra copies of the advertisement to distribute throughout the City. Marina Dock Age Magazine will publish an article about the City in a September edition. Mr. Held reminded members of the election of new officers at the next meeting in September. Thursday, July 18, 1996, the City approved the wording of the budget on the bid to rebuild the Magnolia Street dock. The preconstruction meeting was held August 5, 1996, and Siebert Construction will begin construction September 30, 1996. A new seawall, a storm drain and dock will be constructed, and the project is expected to be complete within 6 months. A motion was made by Mr. Smith to adjourn at 8:52 a.m., duly seconded and carried unanimously.