[Bboa-members] Finance Sub committee meeting

[Bob Griffiths]

All,  A little history, analysis, and comment.

The Marina berthers pay for the non-beneficial crap you describe and then 
some because over time these have been snuck in place with little or no 
resistance and can still be gotten away with.

Years back, 20 or more is as far back as I can remember going to W.C. and 
City Council meetings, the Marina budget carried millions (with an m) in the 
reserve fund.  The reserve has been chopped away by keeping berth fees low, 
fixing lease rates (by the City) low, cunningly provided services to the 
Parks Dept., paying for frivolous events, and allowing the 
Radison/Marriot/Double Tree to create a Bed Tax, estimated to be about 500 K 
per year, which goes to the City rather than the Marina,  multiply that by 
twenty years and there goes your reserve fund alone.

The Marina was basically created with Cal Boating and Waterways low 
interest/long payback loan advances.  All this C.B.W. loan money comes with 
a lot of strings, the strongest is that the "Marina is an Enterprise Zone", 
the basic concept of which is that all funds generated within the Enterprise 
Zone must stay there.  Somehow there's secret one way swinging door here. 
Possibly some of you with legal/municipal budgetary experience/expertise 
could figure this out, and eliminate or reverse such corrupt practices and 
lock the door.  Brad Smith and the Marina staff have no way of correcting 
these flagrant corrupt violations of Enterprise Zone guidelines, they are 
just doing their jobs as dictated by the City Council aka Uptown.  Should 
C.B.W. know of this?  Are they just ignorant or looking the other way just 
as long as their loan payments are current?

The Waterfront Commission members must be Berkeley residents, so do you 
think the are in anyway beholden to the boaters.  Historically when 
municipal marinas with committees/commissions like Berkeley's W.C. are 
composed of boaters rather than "now you see it now you don't politician 
aspirants", privatization soon follows.

As a point of history, when Cruger Hanson decided to replace A, B, C, D, and 
E in the latter '80s, because they were wood and would blow away in the next 
big storm, it took a lot. Three (3) private studies at about 200K a pop from 
Marina funds, piling and dock surveys by a Berkley Berthers diver and a 
Marina Staff diver (The Berthers diver found nothing wrong and the Staff 
diver condemned all, but later admitted he hadn't gone in the water). 
Countless Berkeley Berthers Association members going to the City Council 
meetings, making their presence known, and speaking up..  A, B, C, D, and E 
are still in place.  After two false starts the cross wind, almost empty F 
and G docks were replaced and reoriented with WOOD, up and down wind slips 
which are about 95 percent full, AS WAS RECOMMENDED by the Berkeley 
Berthers.  This took FIFTEEN YEARS.  The average commissioner's tenure is 
about FIVE?

A dozen or so of the planned northernmost (F side) slips were never built, 
as requested by the Hornblower group to allow turning room for their large 
boats, which is never needed or been used.   Twelve 30 ft. boats at 5.00 per 
ft./mo. comes to $18000 per year (lost revenue).  It's not hard to see who 
has the biggest voice uptown.

Changing things involving a lot of money, require a lot of TIME and WORK. 
Some have to be willing to do this.  Having a organization with a constant 
presence at City Council meetings when items of  Marina importance are on 
the agenda is imperative, or things will still be the sameo sameo, until the 
occupancy report indicates otherwise.  Bob, formerly of the Berkeley 
Berthers Association.

 If you didn't know, the possessor slip tax goes to Alameda County, go 
figure. B