Rate hike at Everett marina launch

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starcrafttom

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I just got a email from another board member in my CCA chapter. It looks like the Port of everret is going to start to charge for parking at water front. So in their supposed wisdom they are also going to start charging us to park after we pay to launch. If you wish to tell them how you feel about it follow the link. everett
 
Tom, is this a confirmed?

They already charge for overnight [truck & trailer] parking from Memorial Day thru Labor Day. Personally, I think $5 is reasonable for launch (user pays) as long as the money goes to the facility and NOT to the "general budget". The oldest gov't shell game in the world. :evil: I'd like to see exactly what they are proposing; how much, when, where etc. All in the name of "revenue".
 
just follow the link to the port of everret site and read for your self.
 
sorry , looks like the like no longer works to the page I was reading last night I will try to fix it later.
 
I just checked the link I was given last night. I posted what I though about their plans and so did a lot of other people. I doubt they recieved any positive responces. So as with any government, when they dont hear what they want they just stop listening. the link is now dead and the commit page no longer exist. Time to start launching in marysville.
 
Well the squecky wheel gets a phone call :wink: I just got off the phone with a nice young lady from the port of Everett just now and she wanted to know where I got the info about the rate hike. She claims that the web page was not supposed to be public and that the rate hike was not going into effect this year. Sounds to me as if they under estimated the negative response that this would cause. The web site clearly stated that the new fee would be enforced starting July 1, 2009. It also sounds like they did not think thru the whole idea. I agree that the cars , non- launch, parking could have a fee. No reason for the boaters to take up all the cost of up keep. The parking lot in the summer is over loaded with cars using the ferry or the park. Now that the area is becoming a hot kite boarding spot the parking lot is really getting full. And I have never seen any of the kite boarders , who use kayaks ,rafts and car toppers, pay for launching. And they have a habit of taking up a lot of time inflating thier rafts on the dock. There was a kayak ramp around the other side of the bark but it’s was removed I believe when the new marina was built.

What I disagreed with is that the boaters would have to pay a launch and park fee. Parking is part of launching. Well it looks as if a large number of people posted on the web page before it was removed and that action by the public got the port to delay and rethink the idea. :smiled
 
Hi Tom

The link worked early this am, and I sent a comment. Here in the Delta area of Calif as I am sure you know the state park system charges both for launch and parking. I really get irritated with it. Who knows what they will think up next!
 
Well, I added my $0.02 worth. Here is what I submitted via the form.

Additional charges for parking at the marina are a bad idea. The measure may be intended to raise revenue, but if it decreases usage of the marina, it will have the opposite effect. Look what happened to usage of Washington State Parks when they instituted a day use parking fee - usage went down so low the state quickly had to remove the charge. Please reconsider this ill-advised idea.
 
Here's an e-mail I got this AM



Hi Martin-
Thank you for your comments. The Port will not be implementing the
parking fee this summer.

Please let me know if you have any questions,

Sincerely,

Lisa Lefeber
Communications Administrator
Phone: 425-388-0617
e-mail: lisam@portofeverett.com
 
That's what I wanted to know, Tom. Were they going to institute pay parking for ALL park users; kayakers, kite fliers, people hanging out with their kids, shoppers @ the flea market on Sundays etc? IMO it should be ALL park/facility users. If kayakers park their trucks, they should have to pay $5 like I do for my truck & trailer. Why should us boaters pay more and they pay nothing?

The days of "free" facility use are over, I'm afraid. (We all know it wasn't "free" to begin with anyway; someone was paying for it) Like I said, I'm OK with reasonable parking/user fees, but they should be spread out across all users with the revenue going to upkeep/services for that particular facility.

Back home boat ramps/parking were free, but the boat ramps/facilities deteriorated and no repairs were being done. When the City & County of Honolulu tried to institute user fees ($25/boat per year, which to me was CHEAP) the boaters bitched like whiny children and complained how it should be "free". I think they still went ahead with it and the funds collected were dedicated to the ramps etc.
 
Yesterday evening I drove past the launch ramps and there were several cars parked in the "vehicle/trailer" parking spots. Judging the roof racks on of those vehicles they appeared to belong to kayakers. Since many of the kite boarders use kayaks to cross over to Jetty Island, I would say that they were the majority of the ones utilizing those parking spaces.

Since, there were only a few vehicle/trailer combinations parked in there, that space was not a problem. However, I've seen times where the lot is crammed full of vehicle/trailer combinations and any additional loss of those parking spots would certainly have an impact on us. (However, since it is not my job to "police" that lot, I would presume that certainly when those parking spaces are needed, those offenders would be ticketed/towed).

That whole area has certainly been improved upon considerably and obviously we will see a tremendous increase in activity there. Just wait until the 4th of July weekend....it should be interesting.... :shock: .
(Not that I intend to be there on that weekend.... :roll: ).

I agree with Mark, that if we have an increase in fees, I would hope that all park users contribute a fair portion as well. As it is now, folks can park individual vehicles for free, board the passenger ferry to Jetty Island for free and enjoy all the facility amenities for free.

Certainly, I have no problem being assessed a fee for my fair share, but the emphasis must be on "fair".
 
The Bellevue 40th St. ramp on Lake Washington, , with one ramp in and one ramp out, charges $9 a day (24 hrs) weekdays and $10 a day on weekends. They only have 60 spaces and one Porta Potti. I never had a complaint, as I thought it was a nice facility and one of the few on Lake Washington. A few years ago I noticed that several retail boat sellers would use the ramp repeatedly for demo rides and not pay. That did tic me off a bit, but, now that most of them are out of business, I kind of regret my bad feelings. The Everett facility is the nicest one I have ever been to, on either coast. It's well maintained, has clean restrooms, and even a free washdown area, all for $5. Everytime I see their rep at the Seattle boat show I make a point of telling him/her what a good facility it is.
 
dotnmarty":38d0s0ou said:
...and even a free washdown area, all for $5.
Click to expand...

Forgot that point too. They'll even let you pull up at the visitor's dock and tie up for free, as long as it's less than 6 hrs.
 
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