Marina board recommends modest rate increase

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Members of the Oak Harbor Marina Advisory committee abandoned a plan that would have set moorage rates based on other marinas in the area.

Instead, the committee is recommending a 2 percent increase in moorage.

The committee was initially looking at a proposal to set marina rates at 80 percent of the average rates in the region. It would have limited the increase in the rate for 60-foot boats at 6.4 percent.

Harbormaster Chris Sublet said members decided, however, that the proposed rate increases would be too much and decided to recommend a flat 2 percent increase. In addition, the environmental compliance fee would increase from $5 to $7.29 and electricity for guest moorage would increase from $4 to $5 a day.

Sublet said the proposed increase may not be enough to keep everything afloat.

“It costs a lot to keep this going,” he said from his office at the marina. “Probably more than 2 percent a year.”

For the comparison, the committee looked at marinas in Anacortes, Langley, Everett, La Conner and Des Moines, which has the only other city-owned marina in the state.

Sublet said things tend to be less expensive at Oak Harbor’s marina because it lacks the amenities the other marinas have.

The other marinas are adjacent to cities, which makes it easy to walk around town.

“When you get to Oak Harbor, you’ll still be a mile away from amenities,” he said.

The monthly rate for open moorage for 32-foot boats, for example, is $250.11 a month in Oak Harbor and $420 in Anacortes, which is the highest. The average was calculated to be $330.88 a month.

Sublet said he plans to talk to the city council about the recommendation at a workshop today and formally present it to them at the April 17 meeting.