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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-16 Marine Advisory Board Minutes MINUTES OF MEETING DANIA BEACH MARINE ADVISORY BOARD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 — 6:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order Chairman Clive Taylor called the meeting to order at 6:05p.m. 2. Roll Call Members Present Clive Taylor, Chairman Mike Grady Rhonda Buckner Craig McAdams Albert Owler Tommy Molinconico Ronald Brozic Gary Rowe Carol Stokrocki Bernard S Mndell Debby Bradford James Reckert Chris Arutt Deputy Jason Riddle Peggy McKenna Members Absent Clayton Bailey(unexcused) Timothy Scanlon(unexcused) Captain Jay Jackson (unexcused) Guest Gary Grundwald, Harbour Towne Marina Nick Buckner 3. Approval of Minutes of August 19, 2009 Minutes August 19, 2009 minutes to be corrected as follows; Gary Rowe was present in the August 19,meeting. Gary Rowe motioned to approve the minutes, seconded by Craig McAdams. The motion carried unanimously. 4. Reports and Discussion 4.1 Turn your Boat into a Float Parade Clive Taylor spoke on behalf of Kristen Jones, Director of Parks and Recreation. He noted that the Turn your Boat into Float Parade flyers ready for distribution and posting. Chairman Taylor advised the Parade will start at the Dania Jai-Alai and end at the Beach. He noted that the entries are limited to 35 boats and trailers. Chairman Taylor said there will possibly be additional entry at the park to use the ramp as an overflow for shuttling passengers. He also noted that Budweiser is now a sponsor. 4.2 Outsourcing Dania Beach Manna Colin Donnelly, Assistant City Manager, expressed his appreciation to the Marine Advisory Board for their participation in assisting the Turn your Boat into a Float Parade Committee. Assistant City Manager Donnelly discussed the possibility of outsourcing the City of Dania Beach Manna. He noted the City Manna has been operating in a deficit in the last year. He said that in the first budget hearing it looks like the City will be at the roll back rate, or the roll up rate, which means no tax increase, while costs are going up. Assistant City Manager Donnelly stated administration's concern regarding the marina is that the manna ran at a deficit of around $35,000, and right now it is running a $200,000 deficit and they do not want to burden the Dania Beach residents. He noted the proposed plan is to outsource the marina and, there is no cost increase coming out of the general fund to support the marina. Assistant City Manager Donnelly said there was a rate increase at the marina in the beginning of 2008, and that decision was probably made nine months in advance of knowing that they were running in deficit, and not seeing the economic down turn coming which resulted in the marina becoming vacant. He advised in order to get customers back into the marina; he spoke with the Dockmaster and discussed ways to improve the manna such as dockage, signage, and advertisement. Assistant City Manager Donnelly stated even if they roll back the rates to $350.00 for fixed docks and $230.00 for floating docks, and go to capacity; or even if we keep the higher rates they are still running a higher deficit. He also said that they still have 2 years to pay Aragon, per the agreement lease; they also have to pay for security at the manna which runs $63,000 budget to keep it safe. Assistant City Manager Donnelly stated that they are hiring a marine engineer to redesign the marina, which will be going out for bid by months end. Assistant City Manager Donnelly stated they are applying for funding from the Broward Boater's Improvement Plan (BBIP) and if approved it will help lower the manna budget. He said that it will probably take about 2 years, due to permitting. Assistant City Manger Donnelly feels that a well-built marina with all the amenities will be a revenue enhancement, and that is the point of outsourcing the marina. He stated the City will maintain control of the leased rights and ownership of the land, and will still earn the revenue to cover the fixed costs. Assistant City Manager Donnelly and the City Commission spoke with Gary Grundwald of Harbour Towne, regarding assuming the Manna. He stated the City Commission is very receptive of the idea of Harbour Towne managing the manna. Assistant City Manager Donnelly said Commissioner Bob Anton advised that he Gary Grundwald of Harbour Towne will speak with the Marine Advisory Board to get their input. He also stated the main focus of outsourcing the marina is to make sure the City doesn't lose money and to continue to operate the marina in a safe fashion, as best they can without causing additional burdens on the taxpayers. He said that the other idea is that if the commission does not want Minutes of Meeting 2 Dania Beach Marine Advisory Board Wednesday,August 19,2009 to go with the idea from Harbour Towne, and cannot reach an agreement, this may open up to a longer bidding process to see who can run the marina. Gary Rowe questioned if the City of Dania Beach will bill itself as a marine city, and asked if we are getting away from being known as the antique capital. He feels the City of Dania Beach will have no identity if this happens. He also questioned if we are giving up our flagship marina to be labeled as Harbour Towne Marina. Assistant City Manager Colin Donnelly responded that Harbour Towne that exists off Gulfstream, is a lease that the marina would only be a management contract will run the marina, provide dockmaster and security services, and be responsible for minor repairs. He noted that he spoke with the Public Service Director and the Dockmaster at the marina and they explained the stringers under the dock are rotted, and there is an issue of putting really good plywood and tax dollars to use, because the layout of the docks is terrible. Assistant City Manager Donnelly advised the plan is to try and find the money in phase 1 from a public organization in Broward County to have them fund the redesign. He stated that once we are funded by Broward County, the City of Dania Beach will be obligated as a public institution to keep the marina as a public marina and also to charge market rates, and to allow transients at 10 percent operation. Craig McAdams said that the land should be dedicated for public use and recreation for the residents of Dania Beach. Assistant City Manager Donnelly advised that the marina has a public dock and that he does not consider the marina the same as a park. He noted the most marinas are not free will or accessed to the public. Craig McAdams questioned if the marina will be used for business or an attraction. He asked if we gave management to Harbour Towne for public or private use. Assistant City Manager Donnelly responded that in a public marina, if you pay you can use it. He advised that Harbour Towne will manage the marina and the City Commission will set the policies for the use of the marina along with Marine Advisory Board input. He also noted that he asked the Dockmaster to do a survey of the surrounding communities for dock rates. Assistant City Manager Donnelly noted they decided to increase the City of Dania Beach dock rates and apologized to the Marine Advisory Board for not including them in the decision. He also noted that the boat owners were upset over the rate increase because they were not informed. As a result, many boat owners left the docks and were given back their security deposit, which also caused a potential collection problem. Debby Bradford questioned what the cost savings. Assistant City Manager Donnelly stated tax revenue is going to go down and he also stated that the City does not have the flexibility,tax revenue, pension, labor contract, health benefits Minutes of Meeting 3 Dania Beach Marine Advisory Board Wednesday,August 19,2009 with long-term costs, like the private sector, and they are still negotiating. He also stated the main intention is to outsource the marina with the approval of the City Commission. Rick Buckner, guest, questioned the monthly budget. Assistant City Manager Donnelly responded Harbour Towne requested a fixed amount to manage the marina and asked the City of Dania Beach to share the revenue. He noted they plan to redesign and manage the marina to make it run more efficiently and increase the revenue. Gary Grundwald, Harbor Towne Marina Management, worked in marine management for about 20 years; he's licensed and managed various marinas around the world. He noted Harbour Towne is the largest marina company in the USA. Mr Grundwell advised they are here to help with the marina and not take it away. He noted that Harbour Town is well experienced and they plan to advertise in various magazines locally and nationally. Mr Grundwald feels that he can bring great exposure to the City of Dania Beach. He also noted the marina is in terrible condition and they plan to fund some repairs along with available funds from the Broward Boater's Improvement Plan and the City of Dania Beach. Mr Grundwald also noted that they can do a better job at managing the marina by reviving it and bringing it back to life with their professional global operation. 5. Old Business No old business discussed. 6. New Business No new business discussed 7. Board Member Comments No comments 8. Adiournment g�l Chairman Clive Taylor adjourned the meeting at p.m. MARINE ADVISORY BOARD Minutes of Meeting 4 Dania Beach Marine Advisory Board Wednesday,August 19,2009 Clive Taylor, Chair Res ectfully ssu��bmi Nwlzd 2- Antoine Pollard, Records Technician City Clerk's Office City of Dania Beach Approved: /Q cV-0 Minutes of Meeting $ Dania Beach Marine Advisory Board Wednesday,August 19,2009