Middle Bass Island Homeowners Not Happy With ODNR

Middle Bass Island Homeowners Not Happy With ODNR

When the new Middle Bass Island State Park Marina opens in the spring, the handful of islanders with boats over 26 feet in length are guaranteed the seasonal slips they previously had, but the larger number of islanders who had boats 16-25 feet in length and used them much more are not guaranteed anything. That’s the effect of ODNR’s January 14 announcement of a dock lottery.

The Middle Bass Island Yacht Club, whose members for the most part have larger boats, had struck a deal for space at the new marina that guarantees their members the seasonal and daily slips they had before. But the less organized boat owners using Roesch’s Marina failed to get the attention they needed and deserved. The effect is that some families that have had seasonal slips on the island for over 50 years may not get one.

Essentially, ODNR is implementing a 2-tier lottery system giving first preference to year-round island residents, when they should be implementing a 3-tier system giving second preference to other island homeowners.

An abridged version of ODNR’s January 14 announcement is the following:

Docks:

· Docks are being constructed this winter, 2008 – 2009. And will be installed this late spring 2009. Anticipated Available for use starting the beginning of June, 2009.

· The Middle Bass Island Yacht Club will be purchasing their own docks as allowed by their lease agreement with the state. They will be constructing them using the same contractor the state is using. These docks will be installed shortly after the state’s docks are installed.

· The docks will not have electric or water service available until late in the season, possibly after Labor Day.

· The docks that will be along the West end of the basin will designated mostly for seasonal lottery dockage

Dock Lottery:

There will be a dock lottery for those desiring to have a Seasonal Dock. This up-date is not intended to give every detail regarding the lottery, but an over view. Specific forms, stipulations, rules and instructions will be made available in the near future on the ODNR, Middle Bass Island State Park Web Site as well as by mail or fax.

· A Seasonal Dock is defined as a dock that is paid for by a person who wants to have personal use of the dock for his /her boat only, for the entire season.

· The Dock Lottery will be structured to include 2 tiers of applicants. They will be defined as Year Round Island Resident and The General Dock Lottery – all others.

· For the “Year Round Island Resident” Lottery, we will accept lottery applications for this lottery only from those people who can prove they are truly a “Year Round, Island Resident”. A “Year Round, Island Resident” is defined as a person who is registered with the county auditor for the Ottawa County 2 ½ Primary Residence Roll-Back Property Tax applied to their residence on Middle Bass Island, or has a notarized statement declaring they are a year round resident, who resides on Middle Bass Island as their principal place of residence year round. This signed and notarized statement must be an “original” and accompany the application when submitted. If the statement is found to be false, the applicant will be subject to prosecution, and forfeiture of any and all docking privileges at Middle Bass Island State Park.

· The General Dock Lottery Applicants will be required to submit an application as well. Any “Year Round Island Resident” is also allowed to submit a “General Dock Lottery” application. If they are drawn in the Year Round Island Resident Lottery, their application in the General Lottery will be null and void.

· Only one application will be accepted per family and household address for the lottery you are eligible for.

Dock Rates:

For the Summer of 2009 the rates will be as follows

· Transient Docks Non – Electric

· Day Dockage $15.00. 10AM - 7PM or any portion thereof.

· Overnight Dockage $1.25/ boat foot, $30.00 minimum whichever is greater.

· Transient Docks With Electric (NOTE – as mentioned earlier electric is not anticipated to be available until the end of 2009 boating season)

· Day Dockage $20.00. 10AM - 7PM or any portion thereof.

· Overnight Dockage. $1.45/ boat foot, $30.00 minimum whichever is greater.

· Seasonal Docks

2009 -------------------- 2010 -------------------- 2011

26’ * $780 ------------- 26’ $1040 ------------- 26’ $1300
28’ 840 ----------------- 28’ 1120 ----------------28’ 1400
30’ * 900 --------------- 30’ 1200 --------------- 30’ 1500
32’ 960 ----------------- 32’ 1280 --------------- 32’ 1600
34’ * 1020 ------------- 34’ 1360 --------------- 34’ 1700
36’ 1080 --------------- 36’ 1440 --------------- 36’ 1800
40’ 1200 --------------- 40’ 1600 --------------- 40’ 2000
44’ 1320 --------------- 44’ 1760 --------------- 44’ 2200
48’ 1440 --------------- 48’ 1920 --------------- 48’ 2400
52’ 1560 --------------- 52’ 2470 --------------- 52’ 2990

· * Denotes there is only one dock slip with this length.
· The length of the dock cannot be shorter than the overall boat length. This includes the swim platform, bow pulpits, etc.

On January 22, ODNR sent the following additional information:

First, it has been our intent to implement a seasonal dock program that would have year round island resident considerations as part of the equation, while implementing a fair equitable program to the public with public resources we have available at the time.

Secondly, the former private marina within the old original marina had slightly less than 50 slips. There will be 70 slips available for seasonal rental. We are increasing our seasonal dock opportunities beyond what had been previously offered. Of those 70 slips, 30 will be available for the “Year-round Resident Lottery”. If the year round resident lottery does not utilize all 30 slips, the balance will be available for the general lottery. The “Year-round Island Resident Lottery” will be conducted first, providing them with the first opportunity to obtain a dock. Any year round resident that does not obtain a slip in the special lottery, can also apply for the general lottery.

We are using all the dock funding we could to build as many docks while still providing the most basic of services. The transient docks were purchased with Federal funds that could only be applied to transient dockage. The Yacht Club is purchasing their own docks, and the department funded the seasonal docks. I also offer our marina basin is designed for more docks than are currently funded. It is hoped that if the demand is present, we will be able to secure additional funding in the future for additional seasonal docks.

When we purchased the Middle Bass Island Marina we recognized there were individuals whose livelihood depended on having watercraft transportation. We have tried to accommodate those individuals. The Division strives to administer our public facilities & resources within its charge fairly to all Ohio residents. Understanding the unique nature of Middle Bass Island, we are making an exception. This is why we have approached the lottery program with a two tiered system. As with all of our facilities we do continually review our operational processes. We feel this approach is a reasonable, sensible and responsible solution.

ODNR has also informed us that the long-term plan is for all leases to be for five years. One-fifth of the leases will renew every year. To get the leases staggered, the lottery will randomly assign one, two, three, four or five-year leases to the seventy winners of the general dock lottery.

Since the seasonal dock prices are for boats 26’ and longer, they are much more expensive than the previous docks for boat owners with 16’-25’ boats. I estimate that with the better launching ramps and the higher rates at the new marina many of the previous seasonal dock holders will not even apply this year. And the lottery may only get 10-15 applications from property owners who are not year-round residents. With 70 seasonal slips available, will 55-60 off-islanders really apply for the fairly expensive slips? I think it’s doubtful. So the odds are actually reasonable good that all islanders who want a slip will get one.

But the principle is wrong. There is a strong chance that a few islanders will lose the slips they need to do regular shopping, fishing and visiting family and friends on other islands, in addition to the recreational boating they do. Personally, I have friends on 5 other islands that I like to visit regularly. Ohio’s ODNR may be the first state agency in U.S. history to take away seasonal slips from islanders who need them and have no other place to get a slip. The islander boats are mostly small and old and a state agency that doesn’t recognize an island property owner’s right to be able to find a seasonal dock is simply out of touch with reality.

The reality is that even the old, much smaller marina was never full more than the 3 summer holiday weekends a year since the Lonz Winery shut down in 2000. So the cost of giving 10-15 islanders the slips they need is just the cost of 10-15 other 26’ boats not getting in 9 days a year. The state is actually losing money by not allocating those extra slips, assuming that all 70 lottery slips are allocated. To keep calculations simple, let’s assume twenty 26’ seasonal slips for property owners who are not island residents. The state would get $15,600 for the seasonal slips. If these slips are used 9 days a year for day dockage, the state’s income would be $2,700. Even if it was all overnight dockage, the income would be about $5,400.

So it’s costing the state about $10,000 in revenue to keep 20 slips a year available for non-islanders for 3 weekends a year. And that’s only if the marina is full those weekends. And that logic also means that islander families who have had a seasonal slip for over 50 years may not be able to get one in spite of the mostly empty marina. The argument that day dockage fees will make up that $10,000 is false. Most or all of the affected islanders will use day dockage at Burgundy Bay Marina for $5 or $10 a day instead of the state park dockage for $15.

Of course, one perspective on all this is that the needs of a handful of Middle Bass Island property owners are very insignificant in the scheme of things. Still, why can’t ODNR adhere to the simple principle of “Do No Harm”, even when it doesn’t cost them anything?

The right solution is simply to have a 3-tier system instead of a 2-tier system, with the second tier for island property owners. Even with that extra tier, it is likely that not all 70 seasonal slips will be rented out. And if they are, changing the 70 slips to 85 for a 3-tier system would allow island property owners reasonable access to slips while also clearly generating more revenue for the state.

Readers are encouraged to add their comments at the end of this article at http://mbieditorials.blogspot.com/ or via the link on the News page at http://www.middlebass.org.