PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Angeles commissioners approved a small raise in boat moorage rates at the Port Angeles Boat Haven and John Wayne Marina at Tuesday’s meeting.
By a two-to-one vote, 2016 moorage rates will be raised 2.8 percent in January.
The percentage was computed using the combined measurement of two years of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a national measure of the average change in prices of goods and services, plus 1 percent.
Commissioners John Calhoun and Jim Hallett voted to approve the moorage increase, saying current rates are too low, while Commissioner Colleen McAleer voted against the moorage increase.
The Boat Haven’s rates are in the lowest 10th percentile in the region and do not reflect the cost of maintaining the marinas, Calhoun and Hallett said.
Boat owners need to have predictable changes and not the sudden large increases in moorage rates that have peppered the marinas’ histories, Hallett said.
However, he cautioned against assuming using the CPI would keep the rates from increasing by large amounts and said double-digit inflation has happened in the past and could again.
“The marinas are the jewels of our communities,” McAleer said.
The port needs to set rates and provide predictability, she said.
McAleer said the two marinas contribute a large amount to the communities’ economies and add to economic growth potential.
“The marine terminals wouldn’t exist if we didn’t have Boat Haven,” she said.
Moorage rates
Using two years of CPI data will address a lack of an increase in marina moorage rates in 2015, commissioners said.
In future years, rates will be raised annually using the CPI measurement plus 1 percent, commissioners said.
Moorage fees are adjusted according to the length of the slip the boat occupies.
At the Boat Haven, rates will increase:
■ 20 foot — from $5.50 to $5.65.
■ 30 foot — from $5.75 to $5.91.
■ 40 foot — from $6.10 to $6.27.
■ 50 foot — from $6.35 to $6.53.
■ 60 foot — from $6.65 to $6.84.
■ 80 foot — from $6.65 to $6.84.
At John Wayne Marina, rates will increase:
■ 20 foot — from $6.60 to $6.78.
■ 30 foot — from $7.20 to $7.40.
■ 40 foot — from $7.80 to $7.80 (no change).
■ 50 foot — from $8.43 to $8.43 (no change).
■ 60 foot — from $8.94 to $8.94 (no change).
Port staff members had recommended an eventually significantly higher raise in moorage fees, increases of 3 percent to 9.8 percent at Boat Haven, to bring the moorage fees to 90 percent of the average of six other similar ports in the region.
Commissioners noted that each of the more expensive marinas have different situations and amenities — and do not have to deal with having a log yard adjacent to the marina.
Boat owners in the past have complained that the dust from the log yards damages the paint and finishes of their boats.
Advisory committee
A mooring rate advisory committee, with members including users of both marinas, had recommended considerably lower rates, reducing rates by 2.3 percent to 9.8 percent for larger slips, and to decrease the cost of the smallest slips at Boat Haven by 18.2 percent.
The reduction of the price in the smallest slips would encourage owners of boats small enough to trailer to use moorage instead of storing their boats at home or in storage yards, according to the committee recommendation.
Members of the committee told commissioners they felt their recommendations were not being given sufficient weight.
Calhoun said parts of the recommendations would be taken under consideration for next year.
“There is a conflict of interest for the advisory committee to come up with rates,” he said.
Hallett said the committee did good work and identified a number of areas where the port could improve, such as offering reduced rates for a year to attract new customers and to increase marketing of the marinas.
If the committee’s recommendations were not being taken seriously, “we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he said.
McAleer said she believes the port should have enacted more of the advisory committee’s recommendations this year.
“We said we would test their ideas. We should be offering something,” she said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
