Slipping Into Uncharted Waters -- Port Of Seattle Is Considering Changes That Could Launch Higher Moorage Rates

Change is in the salty air at Shilshole Bay Marina.

As part of a review of all its operations begun two years ago, the Port of Seattle is taking a fresh look at how it runs the 33-year-old marina west of Ballard.

Tomorrow at 1 p.m. at their Pier 69 headquarters, Port commissioners will hold a public meeting to decide whether the Port should adopt a different operating philosophy toward the 1,500-slip marina than the one in place today. One eventual result could be higher moorage rates.

No decisions are expected to be made at the meeting. Instead, the commission will sketch out a policy for the marina's managers to follow. Pat Davis, a Port commissioner, said the key question will be: To what extent should the marina be run like a business as opposed to a public service?

On the surface, such an issue seems beyond debate. Running the marina more like a business would mean better facilities, a sharper ear given to boaters' needs and less red tape. It would mean more money spent on everything from the marina's restrooms to its aging electrical outlets and tired docks.

It would also likely mean higher moorage rates, and therein lies the rub.

"We should have the very best service to the customer and get the best return that we can," Davis said. At the same time, "Do we have an obligation to consider the fact that our public is a mixed spectrum" of incomes?

The end result will be followed closely by area boaters.

Shilshole has long been the awkward stepchild of the Port. Built with state, federal and Port dollars for the city of Seattle, it was turned over to the Port after its completion and then ran in the red for years.

A 23 percent moorage-rate increase phased in in 1988 turned Shilshole around. Now, the marina makes about $1 million profit a year, though those dollars are returned to the Port's general fund rather than plowed into marina improvements. Moorage rates, though the most expensive of any public marina in the Puget Sound area, are about 15 percent to 20 percent less than the privately run Elliott Bay Marina, which opened in 1991. The waiting list for a slip at Shilshole, though shorter than in the past, has about 550 names, meaning boaters must wait between nine months and four years, depending on the size of their boat.

The Port began a review of its operations in 1994 in an effort to boost overall revenues and profits, especially in its marine division, where it has lost money for years. It consolidated some lines of business and sold off others. Shilshole remained, but it has not escaped scrutiny.

There's plenty that needs changing at the marina, said Darlene Robertson, Shilshole's manager.

From the toilets and heating and air-conditioning system in the Port building on the premises, to the security system on the docks and in the parking lots, "We really need to commit to renewal and replacement of our assets," Robertson said.

Shilshole has seen only $2.5 million in capital improvements in the past 15 years. A true business "wouldn't let those assets sit the way they have at Shilshole," Robertson said.

Paul Schell, a Port commissioner, said the marina fell behind because "there is this sort of historical notion that we should just be trying to break even" by operating the marina. Now, "Our objective is to run a first-class marina in a business-like fashion."

The first major investment - a $7 million project to replace a wobbly dock at the marina's south end - will begin early next year. Robertson said she hopes to spend about $9.4 million in the next five years for dock replacement, repaving the parking lots and other improvements, though the dock-replacement program has not yet been approved.

Davis said it's also time to take another look at developing Shilshole's waterfront "uplands," now mostly used as parking lots for marina customers. A survey a few years ago showed little demand for developing offices or apartments there, but that may have changed, Davis said.

A sea change in attitude among Shilshole's management is necessary as well, Robertson said. "We really haven't been focusing as much as we should on customer service and (employee) productivity."

The biggest obstacle to doing any of this may be the commission's desire to boost moorage rates.

The commission wouldn't be alone in its desire. The ports of Edmonds and Everett and the city of Des Moines have either already decided or will soon decide to change the rate structure for their public marinas. These marinas were built about the same time and are now in need of major revamping, said Joe Dusenbury, the Des Moines marina's harbor master.

Still, any changes to Shilshole's pricing policies are bound to draw loud comments from boaters.

Kathie Hicks, who lives with her husband, Martin, at Shilshole aboard the couple's 45-foot sailboat, said she was already satisfied with improvements to the docks, bathrooms and security.

As for potential rate increases, "There's a lot of retired people, a lot of people on fixed incomes" at the marina, said Hicks, who is not retired but who pays $376 a month, plus electricity, for her boat's slip. If rates went up enough, Hicks said, the couple might consider moving their boat to Bremerton.

John Polikowsky, a retired schoolteacher who lived on his boat at Shilshole for 25 years and who still moors it there, shared Hicks' sentiments.

"It doesn't look like some of the newer marinas, but who cares?" he asked, as he stood next to a leaking spigot.

Polikowsky had a different interpretation of the Port's interest in changing its operating philosophy at Shilshole.

"They ought to say they're going to run it to make more money. That's what they mean."