Bustling marina to experience a growth spurt

The Port Washington marina is about to expand.

The Common Council on Nov. 15 took steps to add 14 slips to pier five — the northernmost pier in the marina — a move that will allow the marina to trim its waiting list and increase revenue.

Aldermen on Nov. 15 approved a $148,675 contract with McMullen and Pitz to dredge the area north of pier five so it can accommodate the new slips and agreed to spend $50,970 to buy seven docks from Meeco Sullivan.

The project will also involve $11,000 in expenses that the city will cover, including installation, electrical work and plumbing materials.

The new slips will accommodate 30-foot boats, and Harbormaster Dennis Cherny noted that this is the size most in demand at the marina.

“We can fill it immediately because we have a waiting list with mostly 30-footers,” he said, adding the project will pay for itself in about seven years.

The marina currently has 270 slips.

Cherny noted that he originally hoped to add nine piers, but there wasn’t enough room in the area to accommodate them all.

Both measures were recommended for approval a day earlier by the Harbor Commission, which has considered the project for the last year.

Cherny told the commission that it’s expected that about 3,500 cubic yards of spoils will be dredged, and those will be placed nearby to help stabilize the shoreline.

“They can use it (the area) for a picnic area or whatever they want,” he said

Because they won’t be trucked away for disposal, he said, it will save about $100,000.

  City Engineer Roger Strohm told aldermen that the city received two bids for the dredging work, but only one was valid. That’s because the Army Corps of Engineers is requiring that armor stone that fell away from the breakwater be returned to the structure, and one firm could not handle that task.

The bulk of the Common Council’s discussion revolved around the fact that McMullen and Pitz is not being required to have a performance bond.

“A performance bond will guarantee the city that the work will be done,” Ald. John Sigwart said, adding that the bond would only cost about $1,500.

“It just seems like good insurance to me,” he said.

City Attorney Eric Eberhardt said he had raised the same concern and believes the bond should be required.

But Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said the cost is generally passed on to the city, and he noted that McMullen and Pitz has done good work for the community in the past.

“There’s a very, very low chance that the work will not be finished,” he said. “I felt the risk was low and we didn’t need the added expense.”

The city is also not requiring a payment bond, Sigwart also noted, but officials said that’s because there are no subcontractors.

Cherny told the Harbor Commission that the dredging work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The piers will likely be in by early June, Cherny said.