The Oak Harbor City Council is faced with a daunting task to decide which of the many city projects to fund and which simply can’t be done within the confines of available resources. To do this task the council needs to unemotionally evaluate each project to determine its return on investment and then how to best leverage available resources to reap the greatest return to the community. Return on investment in this case means city government income plus community economic contributions plus community benefit. Community benefit is qualitative and hard to measure but includes those things that make this town a better place to live, a diverse and exciting community with attractions that can be enjoyed by visitors and residents alike.

The Oak Harbor Marina was built 32 years ago using a bond issue that has been paid for by the users of the marina. In its entire history the income from moorage holders and visiting boaters has (1) paid the bond principle and interest and (2) provided for operations and maintenance of the marina. Contrary to critics, the marina has not been a drain on city property owners but rather has significantly contributed to the economic vitality and diversity of this community.

Permanent tenants at the marina spend money in town to stock the boat, fix the boat and refit the boat. Visiting boaters go into town to buy dinner, visit a food store, buy parts and accessories at West Marine or use the services of the local boatyard. All these transactions benefit the community at large; creating jobs, paying wages, generating sales tax income.

The consultants who worked on the marina master plan estimated the current contribution to be $3.2 million a year and place it at $5.3 million per year for the redeveloped marina. That $5.3 million estimate is over and above what the tenants and visitors will pay to the city for moorage fees. That’s economic vitality for all of Oak Harbor not just boat owners. The total cost to the city and its taxpayers over the past 32 years has been $100,116 paid for the first phase of the marina master plan in 2005.

After 32 years of use the marina is in need of major redevelopment and renewal. The best estimates are that, with repairs, a maximum of 10 plus years of useful life could be obtained from the existing floats. The main basin was last dredged in 1942 by the Navy to make way for the seaplane base. At low tides a number of the docks and their boats are sitting on the bottom. Dredging is an immediate need. The electrical system, in addition to being 32 years old, is functionally obsolete in that only 20-amp service is provided to most of the marina – well below the requirement for today’s boats. Likewise, although the fire main system has been improved and extended over the years, it does not meet today’s fire code.

An investment in the marina is an investment in Oak Harbor’s future. The marina is the only project on the list that has the capability of partially paying back an investment through tenant and visitor fees. Further the marina has a proven record of economic contribution to the community and expectations are that a renovated marina with the right slip sizes will contribute even more.

To ignore the marina will result in continuing deterioration and eventually this fantastic city asset will become a major liability. To ignore the marina will result in the loss of millions of dollars each year from the local economy. To ignore the marina will mean a failure to invest in the economic diversity of Oak Harbor. To ignore the marina will mean that there won’t be any youth sailing classes on Saturdays, no Whidbey Race Week, no place for the locals to fish, no complement to the Windjammer project and eventually just a mudflat at the east end of the harbor. How does the city continue to be “Whidbey Island’s Premier Waterfront Community” with a derelict marina sitting on a mudflat?

Our city council faces a very difficult and challenging task; there will be no absolute winners emerging from the review. Not everyone is going to be happy and no single project is going to get all that it will take to implement it. We only ask that they consider fairly and do what best serves the community at large.

Steven Williford is a boat owner and a member of the Oak Harbor Marina Committee.