Harbormaster gets OK to study marina expansion

Members of the Port Washington Harbor Commission on Monday gave Harbormaster Dennis Cherny the go-ahead to study expansion of the marina.

The potential expansion project would extend seven floating piers from pier five that would accommodate 14 slips for 30-foot boats, the size most in demand at the marina.

The marina currently has 65 to 70 boats on its waiting list, and Cherny said this would be an economical way to help accommodate some of these vessels.

“With the numbers we have waiting, we should fill them right away,” Cherny said.

That view was echoed by several commission members.

“I feel we have an obligation to” study this and potentially lower the number of boats on the marina’s waiting list, commission member Tim Osowski said.

“Go for it,” Commission Chairman Jerry Gruen said.

Cherny, who said he’s been pondering the expansion for a couple of years, got permission from the commission to spend an estimated $3,300 from ECS Midwest to get soil samples of the area that will need to be dredged for the new piers. 

That cost can be covered in the existing budget, he said.

To create the slips, the city would have to dredge an area about 75 feet north of the pier to a depth of eight feet, Cherny said. 

“I would like to get the dredging done this year,” he said, estimating that cost to be $50,000.

If the soil samples show contamination in the area, he said, that cost could double. But, Cherny added, he doesn’t expect there to be any contamination since none was discovered on the Newport Shores property adjacent to pier five.

Cherny estimated the floating piers could cost about $40,000, not including installation. The city may be able to install them on its own, he added.

That cost can’t be covered by the marina funds, he said. Instead, the city would have to borrow money to cover the cost.

The increased revenue from renting these slips would likely be about $30,000 annually, he said, allowing the marina to recover its costs quickly.

None of the work will be done until the city gets a needed permit from the Army Corps of Engineers and permission from the Department of Natural Resources, Cherny added.

The Common Council still needs to give its blessing to the plan before dredging can be done.