Marina Authority Continues Work to Gain Control of and Reopen the North East Marina

It’s complicated

Saturday’s meeting of the North East Community Marina Authority brought to light the many complex issues the authority has been working through to gain control of the marina and reopen it for the current boating season. Authority Chairman Eric Urbanowicz gave a detailed description of the discussions taking place and the options and decisions that need to be made.

To begin, the authority has not yet hired a solicitor, however they have retained temporary legal counsel to review the actions of the authority as they work through this process.

Previously, some had believed $15 million had been allocated to the marina and would become available when the marina was transferred to the authority. Eric explained that is not the case. He also indicated there was no mechanism in place where the marina, as a valuable asset, could simply be transferred to the authority, however, if the marina’s value were only $1, the marina could be transferred, so if liabilities for necessary repairs and upgrades and ongoing expenses were sufficient to reduce the value to that amount, the transfer could take place.

Still, the authority, as explained by treasurer Kara Haas, has very little money available which means, even if transferred, repairs and expenses would immediately bankrupt the authority.

Adding to the costs, authority member Tim Truitt has been investigating the necessary insurance that needs to be in place before the marina can reopen and it, too, is beyond the authority’s ability to pay.

There’s a plan to go forward

An agreement has been worked out with the PA Fish and Boat Commission with two options, but since the option of having the marina transferred is not yet feasible, the other option is to obtain a limited license agreement, giving the authority the ability to open and run the marina while the Fish and Boat Commission retains ownership. The commission could fund some of the routine maintenance while the authority worked on the process of gaining full ownership. The authority voted to accept this option, but it needs to be reviewed and approved by counsel and signed off at the state level before it takes effect. This could be a matter of days or weeks.

Secretary Ed Mascharka then said there are two bills pending in the PA legislature, Senate Bill 1073 and House Bill 2327, both are the same bill for the purpose of:

… itemizing public improvement projects, furniture and equipment projects, transportation assistance, redevelopment assistance projects, flood control projects and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission projects …

Contained within those bills is a project allocation of $18 million for the North East Marina, as highlighted in the image at the top of this page. (The section highlighted above can be found on page 143 of the senate bill and 144 of the house bill) If approved, that money would be controlled by the Fish and Boat Commission, but would then be available on as as needed basis to make the necessary repairs and upgrades for such things as outfitting the marina and docks with an electrical system up to code.

The time frame for these bills to be approved depends entirely on the actions of the legislature and the governor.

But wait, there’s more …

Also discussed during the meeting was the work of forming a 501c3 for the purpose of accepting contributions and the other possibility of forming a foundation as an arm of the authority with various pros and cons some of which were explained by Vice-Chairman Amy Burniston and treasurer Kara Haas.

There was also some discussion of the restrictions in place on the dredging operations within the marina and some progress being made there where, depending on analysis of the materials, changes may be made, though nothing yet decided. Fingers crossed.

Patience

What was very apparent from the meeting is how much work the authority has already done and is doing while working through a complicated legal process. Everyone wants the marina open as soon as possible and it may be very soon, but much depends on individuals and departments at the state level that are out of the control of the authority, so be patient and know everything that can be done is being done. Let’s hope for a positive outcome in the very near future.