Harbormaster explores marina expansion as waiting list grows

Port Washington Harbormaster Dennis Cherny is looking into the possibility of expanding the marina by another 14 slips off pier five.

Cherny said his plan calls for adding 14 slips for 30-foot boats — the size most in demand at the marina — to pier five at the far north end of the marina.

Using pier five rather than having to build another pier, he said, is key to the plan.

“That’s about the only place we can find space without moving piers around,” Cherny said. “We can’t do that (move piers).”

The plan, he noted, would help the marina, which currently has 270 slips, address a lengthy waiting list for slips and bring additional revenue to the city and downtown.

“I only see it as a win-win,” he said.

Cherny said he’s been contemplating the plan for about a year, since the waiting list at the marina has grown to be between 50 and 60 boats.

“That changes everything,” he said. “When you have 50, 60 people wanting slips, you need to look at this.”

Cherny said he is working to obtain soil samples in the area to determine if any dredgings for the project would contain contaminants, but he doesn’t expect this to be the case.

“I don’t anticipate a problem,” he said. “If Newport Shores was not contaminated, I don’t see why the area east of that would be.”

He said he expects to get an estimate on the cost of soil borings this week and hopes the work could be done this fall.

Cherny estimated the cost of adding the slips to be about $150,000, if there is no soil contamination.

If there is contamination, he said, the cost could go up another $50,000.

“Then it becomes a question of is it worth it?” he said.

The city would have to borrow to finance the expansion, and Cherny expects it would take five to seven years to pay back that debt.

“We can recover it within 10 years, certainly,” he said. 

Cherny said that while the plan is in its infancy, he has discussed the possibility of expanding the marina with Harbor Commission members, who are willing to explore the idea.

“Everyone thinks it’s a good idea,” he said.

Harbor Commission Chairman Jerry Gruen, who said the commission will likely discuss the proposal when it meets at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, said the plan is “very preliminary.”

“We’re many steps away from it,” he said. “It’s something we’re going to look at. Right now, it’s just an idea. This could be one of those ideas that takes off or doesn’t go anywhere. We don’t know if we can do it. It’s our duty to look into any of these ideas we think could enhance the marina.”

The concept has promise, Gruen said, particularly in light of the long waiting list for slips.

“The market right now is good in terms of slips,” he said. “We have more people wanting slips than we have slips. But it isn’t always like that.”

However, since the plan only adds 14 slips, Gruen said, it isn’t a big gamble.

“It wouldn’t be enough to hurt us too much if demand went down,” he said, especially since it makes use of what is now excess land and existing infrastructure. “And we could at least accommodate more people.”

Potential slip expansion isn’t the only plan in the works at the marina. Cherny said he is also working on a plan to improve both parking and the parking lot at the marina.

He said he is negotiating to use the 22-spot parking lot across from the Newport Shores building full-time for marina parking. Currently, it is used on weekends as overflow marina parking.

And when the Newport Shores construction is completed, Cherny said, another 25 or so spaces will become available for boaters and fishermen near pier five.

“With using those, we’ll relieve some of the parking problem,” he said.

Trailer parking, however, will continue to be an issue, Cherny said, because there is no other place to accommodate these vehicles.

To help with parking, Cherny said he is considering resurfacing the marina parking lot, something that hasn’t been done since the facility opened in 1982 and is needed.

“It’s 40 years old and in dire need of resurfacing,” he said. “But it’s costly. We’re trying to figure out where the money will come from.”

He said he has one bid to resurface the 800-by-200-foot parking lot for $220,000, adding that the marina reserve fund doesn’t have enough money to cover that cost and still provide an emergency fund.

One thing Cherny is investigating is whether the marina could use tax incremental financing money to help cover the cost.

“I don’t know how that would work, but we’re going to look at that,” he said. “It would help us, that’s for sure.”

Although the Harbor Commission has looked at various ideas to reconfigure the parking lot and potentially add more spaces or make it more convenient for tenants and visitors, Cherny said none have proven viable. Adding more visitor parking limits tenant parking, he said, and vice versa.

“That’s the last thing I want to do, take parking away from tenants,” he said. “That’s counterproductive, in my opinion.”

He said he would like to undertake a parking lot project next year, but financing will determine whether that’s possible.