Hours of enforcement to be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday
It took about 25 minutes on Dec. 1, but the Sarasota city commissioners finally voted unanimously to approve the city Parking Division general manager’s recommendation that the city begin charging for use of the new floating day dock slips within The Bay Park.
The approximately 20 slips are located near the Centennial Park Boat Ramp.
The fee that the board members settled on — following a presentation by Parking General Manager Broxton Harvey — is $2 per hour, with a five-hour maximum, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Use of the docks will be free on Sundays.
In response to a Sarasota News Leader inquiry, city Communications Specialist Luke Mocherman wrote in a Dec. 11 email, “There is no timeline available for the implementation of paid parking enforcement at the day docks at this time.”
Further, the motion by Vice Mayor Kathy Kelley Ohlrich called for the City Commission to make any future adjustments to the rate, instead of allowing the city manager to handle that responsibility.
Commissioner Ahearn-Koch pointed out, “When we raise our parking rates, that comes before the commission, and I would think the same would apply in this situation, as well.”
Additionally, at the request Ahearn-Koch’s request, the motion called for staff to undertake more research about how other municipalities deal with charging for use of such slips and report that information to the board.
As the formal Agenda Request Form for the item explained the issue, the day docks were installed in the Canal District of The Bay Park, where the nonprofit Bay Park Conservancy has rehabilitated the canal and the south seawall as part of Phase 2 of the park’s plans.
The Conservancy handles the design of amenities and manages the park. It also raises private funds for park features.
During his Dec. 1 remarks, Harvey explained that the day dock slips will provide boaters access to the park itself and to downtown Sarasota.
The goal with setting rates, he continued, is to increase the turnover of the slips. Otherwise, he pointed out, no incentive exists for boaters to leave; they could keep their vessels in place all day and even overnight.
“What we don’t want to do is have these turn into overnight or live-aboard docks,” interim City Manager Dave Bullock pointed out.
While he was proposing a fee of $2 per day, Harvey said, typically, marinas charge $2 per linear foot of a vessel.
In fact, he told the commissioners, “I’ve actually had some communication basically stating that … that recommendation of $2 per hour is a little low.”
He also wanted the board’s guidance, Harvey said, on whether the city manager should have the authority to set the rates administratively.
Further, he noted, boaters would use the ParkMobile app, just as drivers do for parking spots in designated areas of the city. However, while motorists have to put in their license plate numbers, Harvey continued, boaters will have to put in their vessels’ identification numbers. Then they would pay fees based on how long they use the slips.
Early during the discussion, both Vice Mayor Ohlrich and Commissioner Ahearn-Koch asked that Harvey undertake research about how other municipalities handle the same situation — whether they charge by the hour or by linear foot.
The city cannot charge by linear foot, Harvey explained, “because we do not have a dockmaster.” Thus, he said, it would be impossible to determine with certainty that boaters were paying the appropriate fees per linear foot calculations.
He did check on the fees charged at the St. Pete Pier, he continued. The rate is $2 per hour, as well, though it rises to $2.50 per hour on the weekends.
However, Harvey pointed out, the fee goes up if a vessel remains in a slip for up to six hours. The maximum fee is $15, he said, with a higher payment required during the fifth and sixth hours.
Nonetheless, he added, he could provide more information to the commissioners from other municipalities with day docks.
In response to comments from Commissioner Liz Alpert, who was participating in the meeting via Zoom, Harvey reported that St. Pete Pier was the only location he had researched that charges by the hour for boat slip usage. The majority of day docks do implement a fee per linear foot, he noted.
Marina Jack also charges by linear foot, Harvey said.
When Alpert asked him whether O’Leary’s Tiki Bar and Grill in Bayfront Park charges by linear foot, he told her that the restaurant has hourly rates, but if boaters dine there, he believes O’Leary’s does not charge them.
Financial considerations and usage expectations
Vice Mayor Ohlrich did ask Harvey why Bay Park Conservancy staff would not be collecting the fees.
“They’re not in the fee-collecting business,” he replied.
At that point, interim City Manager Bullock interjected that the city’s Parking Division handles all of the parking fees at the 10th Street Boat Ramp. Even though the Conservancy made the improvements, he added, “We do the operation in terms of revenue.”
“Got it,” Ohlrich told him.
Mayor Debbie Trice told Harvey that she is interested in how the day dock slips will be used. Will the boaters be patrons of the restaurant in The Bay Park, for example? Will they be shopping downtown or going to a theater?
Harvey replied that the activities she had cited are among those he expects the boaters to pursue. “That’s why we want to keep the rates at a point where [they don’t] just basically segment a certain group of people that aren’t able to afford to be able to utilize the [slips].”
At $2 an hour, he continued, “I think that actually encourages people to come utilize the docks … It is actually … a price that is pretty economical.”
If a boat needs two slips, Trice asked, would the owner pay $4 an hour?
He told her that was correct.
Referencing the earlier discussion about O’Leary’s, Trice asked whether Marina Jack has day dock slips for its restaurant patrons. If so, do those boaters have to pay for the space?
Interim City Manager Bullock explained, “If you are going to go to the restaurant there, there is an area for you to dock. It doesn’t cost you anything. … [However,] If you leave your boat there all day,” he continued, “you’ll be asked in some form or fashion to move it …”
Bullock noted that signage explains that those slips are for use of the Marina Jack facilities.
Moreover, he pointed out, few locations are available for a boater to dock in Sarasota “and go enjoy downtown for free …”
Bullock also said of the fees, “We may not get the rate right the first time … but the notion of charging $2 an hour is pretty modest. I think this will turn out to be really popular, so the idea of having a bit of turnover, I think, is worthwhile here.”
Commissioner Alpert concurred with Bullock about the fact that few slips are available for boaters “to tie up and come ashore along the Sarasota coastline, so I think it is a very valuable resource that I don’t think it hurts us to charge for.”
Trice then asked whether the hours for charging the fee should extend beyond 8 p.m., especially if boaters might be headed to the theater.
Havey told her that the city’s hours of enforcement, as made clear in an ordinance, end at 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The hours for the day dock slips will be posted, he added. He also expects those signs to include the hour at which all vessels must be removed, whether that is 10 p.m., 11 p.m. or midnight, he said.
Then Harvey reprised part of Bullock’s earlier remark about the proposal: “This is new for us, so we’ll probably have to make some adjustments.”
“So I would think that we don’t have to tell people that we’re not enforcing on Sunday,” Trice continued; “that we will still expect them to use ParkMobile to pay the fee, and they will have to leave by whatever hours are set. Why tell them it’s free on Sunday?”
“Because that’s what the [city] ordinance states,” Harvey replied, prompting laughter. The slips would also be free on city-observed holidays, he noted.
Trice also questioned why the city would keep the fee revenue, since the Bay Park Conservancy built the floating docks.
“Just to be clear,” Bullock responded: “The Bay Park Conservancy, funded by the city and the county, built these docks. So we own these docks, and, therefore, we’re treating them as a city asset.”