Manatee County staff think boaters will pay a little to play, or work.
But Manatee County commissioners are divided over whether to ask boaters for user fees at the nine county-maintained boat ramps.
The idea of instituting paid-parking at the boat ramps was floated during a commission workshop in January.
At a commission workshop Aug. 15 at the administration building in Bradenton, county staff recommended going with paid parking at the boat ramps, possibly $5 a day.
Other counties collect such fees: 75 cents per hour in Charlotte, $6 a day in Pinellas and $5 a day in Pasco and Hillsborough. Hillsborough County collected more than $250,000 in fiscal 2017 from user fees at its ramps.
Manatee County staff estimated a gross revenue of $146,500 per year from paid-parking at its ramps. The county could generate about $500 a year per space based on a $5 daily rate. And there are 273 trailer spaces in the county.
Staff estimated the installation cost of the parking equipment at $65,000 — 10 solar-powered electronic machines at nine ramps. With the monthly data plan for each machine at $45, county staff calculated a return on investment at six months.
Ramp revenue would go toward the installation of navigation aids, construction of artificial reefs, maintenance and upgrades at the ramps and possibly new ramps.
But commissioners were divided on the recommendation, some in favor, some opposed.
“I have no problem with the parking,” said Commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace, endorsing the user fee and taking the opportunity to stress the need for more facilities, especially north of the Manatee River.
Commissioner Betsy Benac said, “User fees, to me, makes sense as we continue to grow.”
And Commission Chair Stephen Jonsson, who represents west Manatee and the islands, said, “I’m a big user-fee person — $5 a day, that’s barely 2 gallons of gas.”
But, said Commissioner Carol Whitmore, “When you look at the amount of money you get, that’s nothing compared to what our budget is.”
“I just don’t support charging to park our boats,” she said during the work meeting, where no vote took place.
Charlie Hunsicker, director of the parks and natural resources department, recommended the user fee, but also acknowledged, “Paid parking is not a silver bullet.”
He and his staff reviewed the expense of building, upgrading and maintaining the ramps, as well as artificial reefs and navigational aids using a pot of county, regional, state and federal money.
Ramp repairs and rebuilds
Three county ramps are on Anna Maria Island — Kingfish on Manatee Avenue in Holmes Beach and Coquina North and Coquina South in Bradenton Beach.
A fourth ramp is nearby, on the south side of the Palma Sola Causeway.
During the workshop, commissioners and staff reviewed planned improvements at three of those ramps — Palma Sola, Kingfish and Coquina South. The Coquina North ramp was improved in 2018.
The county plans interim repairs at the Kingfish ramp in 2020, as a structural engineering inspection in April determined the seawall is near the end of its lifespan. Additionally, the wooden docks need replacing and the cable system at the launch is showing signs of settling.
“Kingfish is the busiest boat ramp in the county,” said Alan Lai Hipp, environmental program manager for marine resources, part of the natural resources department. “But it is aged.”
For 2023, the county plans a renovation of Kingfish, with design and permitting planned in fiscal year 2020-21 and construction in fiscal 2021-22 using funds under the RESTORE Act, which put the civil penalties paid for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill into a trust fund to restore and protect the Gulf coast’s natural resources, fisheries, beaches and economy of the Gulf Coast region.
“We jumpstarted Kingfish in our schedule,” said Hunsicker.
The department also shifted funding priorities to use the RESTORE money.
Work at the Coquina South Ramp includes a renovation in 2028 and, in 2021, interim repairs, including a dock replacement.
“It’s a very popular ramp,” Lai Hipp said.
The Palma Sola Ramp improvements, delayed for months after the facility’s closure in January, will take place in 2020, with a full renovation planned in 2022.
The county assumed maintenance responsibility for the ramp in January, taking over for the city of Bradenton, and closed the facility for repairs.
The 2020 work will involve lowering the docks, grading and smoothing the parking lot, landscaping and dredging.
Referring to a recent discussion about relocating the ramp, Lai Hipp said that is not the plan due to the impact such a project would have on seagrass in the bay.
So the renovation, he said, will be in the footprint of the existing ramp.
The Republithugs, on the Commission, with the exception of Whitmore, are all in favor of soaking boaters at the ramps with “user fees”, because for them, and those like them, the dirtiest four letter “F Word” in the English language is “FREE!”
Of course the county staff has come up with more new ideas to squeeze a few more drops of blood out of the island! And a few commissioners are jumping on board too! They want to put in parking meters and make Kingfish Boat Ramp look like a downtown parking lot with slot machines. And what about all the boat trailers that don’t fit there and have to find other places to park? Maybe we can put parking meters up and down the causeway for them. Think of the revenue! Leave us alone Manatee County! You haven taken too much tax money already, you have given almost nothing back – and you have damaged us in far too many ways.