PA State Representative Jake Banta spoke at both the North East Borough Council and North East Township Supervisors meetings on Monday describing the work he, Dan Adamus and others have been doing to find a way forward for the marina. Although everyone seems strongly in favor of keeping the marina open, the specifics remain unclear.
Rep. Banta has had numerous discussion with the PA Fish and Boat Commission which currently owns the marina. The commission is focused on running it, but not necessarily on finding ways to increase income to cover expenses which have steadily increased. With the current need to replace the electrical service and continuing requirements to dredge the basin and move sand from the west side to properties on the east, the commission no longer has the funds necessary to keep it open.
As Banta pointed out, there are numerous ways to increase revenue as well as potential dollars in the PA budget to support operations. He also noted the commission can turn over the marina to a local authority along with $15 million already approved by PA, but not released because there is no entity in place to receive those funds. A local NE Marina Authority made up of the Borough and Township and other as yet unspecified parties could take over responsibility for operations and initially using the allocated funds, replace the electrical service, assume responsibility for dredging and sand replenishment and work toward growing the marina in a profitable manner.
Supervisors thought the ideas were good, but without specific details, they were concerned the new authority might run out of funds and be left with a lot of continuing costs and expenses which would then fall on taxpayers.
The township decided to send one supervisor, Russ LaFuria, to talk to the Borough to see if they could come up with a better idea of what the combined authority would or could be. They also asked for more specifics from Banta and his group.
It was stressed by Representative Banta and several members of the audience that there is some time pressure involved because without a plan in place, the Fish and Boat Commission may proceed to close the marina, and once closed may be very difficult to reopen.
The marina is an integral part of the North East community and keeping it open and in operation seems to be the obvious course, but the specifics of how that can happen are still being determined.
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Bob says
The Borough voted to move forward with advertising a public hearing to keep the process moving contingent on the townships decision. Councils unanimous vote stands until the township supervisors say they do not wish to move forward. What is the point of a township supervisor speaking to the borough manager when the council has already made a decision and voted. The township just needs to make a decision on their own. I don’t believe the borough manager has any authority to overturn a council decision.
Paul Crowe says
That point was raised in the meeting, then the question was what would be the purpose of another public hearing until there was something more specific to discuss. Any time the marina is on the agenda, there is a good turnout and the same points about the marina are brought up again and again. A public hearing would just repeat the process.
The idea is to have a supervisor meet with perhaps one or two council members, it really wasn’t clear exactly who he would meet with, to try to get to a point where a public hearing could then have something new to discuss with the public to move this issue forward, perhaps a more specific idea of what the marina authority would be. No one is trying to overturn a council decision.
Bob says
The attorney at the borough meeting said the next step was a public hearing. Why couldn’t the financial aspect of it be discussed at the next public hearing? Those are the questions everyone asked at both meetings instead of doing it behind closed doors. If the same guys that did the presentation lastnight came to the next public meeting with all the financial information that was asked for why not just schedule a meeting like the borough did?
Charlene M Kerr says
Why has the group not come up with a proforma for this project? That is what everyone is asking for. They could get budgets from Conneaut, Barcelona and others with marinas of similar size and start crunching numbers for NE based on what the others have experienced, and the marina’s past history. I think that is all that the borough, the township and others are asking for. Show us the numbers!