Thursday, the Cape Charles Town Council discussed the higher rated coming to the harbor. On April 1st 2021, the rates will be going up, however there is massive confusion, hand-wringing, and total ignorance on the part of Town Council about how this will actually happen.
Some anger and frustration appeared, apparently due to the staff report that was either intentionally misleading, or just generally a poor piece of work.
Below is the basic shaft coming to harbor patrons:
The Cape Charles Yacht Center was there for a Q&A session, and appeared to be frogs caught in a gigger flashlight, as they tried to explain that they were a private entity contracted ‘by the town’ to manage the harbor and its assests, and as such, needed to find a way to manage expenses and maximize profits.
The consensus being that the Town made their bed and now they have to sleep in it.
There were some public comments against, including from the Cape Charles Yacht club, whose apparent ‘mission’ is to promote boating in Cape Charles. Their complaints fell on deaf ears, and little sympathy was offered to the plight having pay a little extra to keep a boat.
As was noted earlier, boats are luxury items, not necessities. If money is a problem, you probably should not own a boat, and the town should not be in the business of financing part of that expense.
There is still the lingering issue of how to handle commercial fisherman, which led to more discussion and confusion.
Town Council decided to not vote on the new rates, and will take up the issue again at the next scheduled Special Meeting in February.
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The extensive, new concrete plant is a considerable source of noise and dust for the harbor. Attracting transients and keeping annual slip holders is a must. A sudden considerable rate hike when the peace and quiet has been diminished is confusing. Pay more for less? Is this to cover the salaries of the Massachusetts management coming in?
Yes. It’s all about money at this point. Eyre Baldwin sold the town out right from underneath us. The principals of the CCYC are all about the dollar. They do not provide good service at a reasonable rate, nor do they have the best interest of the town in mind. It’s their best interest, and I feel like Eyre and the town have just rolled over. The biggest moneymaker in the town will now be the Yacht Center. A Maine-owned organization. The town won’t see a dollar outside of a little storage (which won’t be much as the local waterman will NOT pay the yacht center a dime to store their gear/boats after they’ve cut them off from fuel sales). The town loses. The local boaters lose. Everybody loses. Except Eyre and the new owners of the yacht center. What have we done?