PW-S Board picks veteran to guide it through reset

PORT WASHINGTON -  If you ask Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke about the city’s marina, he will tell you it changed the community.

“I believe it is the single greatest investment our city has ever made,” he said. “It defines our city. It put Port on the map.

“When I was really little, it was an industrial scar. But thanks to the strong will of some great people, it’s one of the defining things about Port Washington.”

Port’s marina is a self-sustaining operation run by the city, creating a scenic lakefront attraction that draws people to the waterfront and fuels the downtown throughout the summer.

But it’s more than that. Unlike some municipal marinas, Port’s brings in enough money each year to not only cover its bills, it makes a $50,000 payment to the city in lieu of property taxes — a direct benefit to taxpayers.

Harbormaster Dennis Cherny is preparing for another good year in 2024.

“We had a good year last year, and we’re hoping for another good year this year,” he said. “Right now, fishing is good, and that brings the boaters in.”

During the pandemic, when people had few other outlets, the boating business was booming. It’s calmed down a bit since then, Cherny said, but business is good in Port.

“We were full then and we’re full now,” he said. “We have a waiting list (for slips). We can’t get any more boats in.

“Business is booming.”

Last year, all the marina’s 280 slips were rented, and 36 charter fishing boats called the marina home. There were 3,155 daily launches and the marina sold 250 season launch passes.

And throughout the season, 850 transient boaters stopped in Port.

Boaters bought 80,000 gallons of gasoline and 38,000 gallons of diesel from the marina last year.

And it’s all done with a staff of only two full-time people, two permanent part-time workers and 15 to 20 seasonal workers, many of them high school and college students who do everything from helping fuel boats to cleaning the grounds.

In a good year, Cherny said, the marina will have a $100,000 surplus. That money is set aside in a reserve fund that’s used to pay for unexpected expenses and some capital improvements, such as the fifth pier. That fund also makes up for any budget shortfall the marina may experience.

“There is no city tax money at all that goes to the marina,” Cherny said. “We pay all the debt service, the employee salaries, the improvements.”

In addition to all that, the charter fishing fleet draws thousands of fishermen to the city each year — fishermen who fill beds at the city’s hotels, dine at its taverns and restaurants and shop at its stores.

A 2007 study showed that charter fishing had an economic impact of more than $2 million in Port Washington, while a 2008 study determined the impact of boating overall to be just less than $4 million.

Construction of the marina was controversial at the time — an advisory referendum asking for permission to build it failed but city fathers went ahead with the project anyhow — but today you would be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks it was a mistake.

“I remember before the marina was built,” Neitzke said. “One good nor’easter and there was a bunch of boats on the beach.”

The marina, he said, is unique among Lake Michigan marinas for a couple reasons. Top of the list, he said — “No one has the intimacy we do. You’re right in the heart of the city. There’s no industrial complex to navigate. You walk a half block for a sandwich.

“It’s a true recreational marina.”

Port’s marina is thriving, but the same can’t be said about every municipal marina. In Sheboygan, which has contracted with a private company to operate its marina, officials announced that it needs to make between $11 million and $14 million in improvements to its facility.

“The Harbor Centre Marina, since its inception in 1993, has faced challenges in meeting revenue projections and demand, making it a fiscal burden for taxpayers,” the city said in a statement last fall.

The difference, Neitzke said, is that Port operates its own marina.

“When you contract out, you’re going to get different results,” he said. “There is great pride in leadership. The summer crews that work there recognize the value. Tenants recognize the uniqueness of the marina.

“Dennis (Cherny) has very high ownership and he models pride in our marina. The fact Dennis lives here, his staff lives here, makes a difference.”

Cherny said he’s proud of the work his staff does, but beyond that he said the attitude of the workers — and city residents — reflects well.

“They (boaters) like the friendliness of Port Washington,” he said. “People tell us all the time, this is the best marina we’ve been at because of the people here.”

Other factors play into the marina’s success as well, he said.

“We’re a premier marina. Our facility is modern. It has all the amenities you can have at the marina, except a pool,” he said, adding that the marina offers boaters free passes to the city’s outdoor pool. “We have floating piers. And the location near downtown is huge.’

The marina is a member of the Wisconsin Clean Marina Association, which means it adheres to regulations to keep from polluting Lake Michigan.

“Some people look for that,” he said. “It makes our people proud. You feel good that you’re contributing to protecting our waters.

“And we’re just a fun place to be.”

The marina is so popular, Cherny said, that it has a waiting list for slips of about 50 people — including the city’s new administrator.

The marina doesn’t live on its laurels, Cherny said, but there are two big factors that the city has no control of.

“Fishing and weather,” he said. “Right now, fishing is good, but that can change. And if the weather’s bad, people just don’t come out to get on the lake.”