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Posted by Jim Lowry "Some call it too ambitious for city harbor Marathon City Councilman Don Vasil's vision for the future of Boot Key Harbor and the City of Marathon Marina met with mixed reviews Tuesday when the council met at the Marathon Garden Club. Vasil's plan to add to the harbor 190 boat slips capable of accommodating yachts up to 60 feet long, as well as a dozen retail stores, was originally presented to council by Deputy City Manager C.J. Geotis at its Aug. 28 regular meeting. Council considered the proposal and other marina-related issues at the workshop but took no action and gave no direction. In fact, it appears the plans are shelved for now. Geotis told the Keynoter the first 30 slips were proposed to be constructed off the West Peninsula near the marina building and the second 60 off the East Peninsula. “The rest we would have had to go out and get engineering to look at it,” he said of the remaining 100. Geotis told council the marina is expected to break even this fiscal year after years of losing money. It is budgeted to see a profit of $61,000 in the 2007-08 fiscal year. While his fellow council members seemed uneasy about the breadth of the project, Vasil reiterated his feeling that the future of Marathon lies in the harbor and the marina is the city's most valuable asset. Councilman Pete Worthing-ton, who has been involved with formulating the Marina Master Plan now in place since the late 1980s, before Marathon was even a city, said he feels Boot Key Harbor has finally become what many envisioned it would be. “It is the largest mooring field on the East Coast of the United States,” he said. “The vision was to try and improve the services to the boaters and we've done that and we're doing that. I think we need to give them a chance and see what shakes out. If we can handle more [slips], then maybe we need to look in that direction.” Geotis told the Keynoter permitting would have to go through U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the city, among others. Councilman Mike Cinque said the city would be doing itself a disservice not to consider future options, but said planning staff should evaluate the harbor before any steps are taken. “When the number 190 got thrown out there, it frightened everyone - that's a big number,” he said. Vice Mayor Marilyn Tempest agreed, saying the city should be cautious about “overdoing a good thing.” “I think 190 [slips], right now, is too much,” she said. Geotis also informed council at the workshop that the city is finalizing an agreement with a company to perform an Americans with Disabilities Act inspection at the marina. “He'll give us an idea where we need things completed and he'll help us with our transition plan,” Geotis said. Council also discussed the status of the 33rd Street boat ramp and the possibility of the city taking over the state-owned ramp between The Island Fish Co. and the former Quay property at mile marker 54. "
on October 7, 2007, 10:51 am
166.214.21.17
For those who missed the Keynoter article:
Preliminary plans are for construction to take place in two stages, with 90 slips added in phase one and 100 more in the second. Each phase is estimated to cost roughly $1.25 million.
According to staff calculations, the marina would be expected to generate about $1.29 million annually. It would take 2.2 years before the city sees a return on its investment.
“We need something to draw people and keep them in Marathon,” Vasil said. “I feel a world-class marina, whether we build it all or start a portion of it, would be in the best interest of this community.”
Worthington raised questions about the amount of parking currently available at the marina and pointed out that city land development regulations call for one parking space per slip in the harbor. He also said obtaining permits for the projects would take from three to five years.
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