BELMAR — An increase in boat slip fees at the Belmar Marina was introduced during the borough council meeting Tuesday.
“We had our first Harbor Commission meeting of the year on Jan. 17 at the marina,” Councilman Mark Levis said. “At that meeting, it was decided that we should revisit some of the rates.”
According to Councilman Levis, selling the boat slips has become increasingly difficult in recent years because of the rising level of water and soil that have accumulated over the years. As a consequence, the borough has had to discount fees on the affected slips.
Now, however, the marina is at full capacity, Mr. Levis said. Revenue from a rate increase will help pay for dredging and other maintenance that will eliminate the need for future discounts.
He said the change would “effectively double the rate” for some slips.
“This will help us generate a little bit more revenue from those Marina slips,” he said. “And hopefully we’ll get to the point where we’re not creating less desirable slips that have to be discounted and eventually can make some repairs of those slips and charge full rate for them.”
The councilman said the Harbor Commission had discussed the need for further dredging.
“It has not happened for a very long time,” he said. “If we continue this way, we will just continue to have more undesirable slips.”
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