No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

The fun forum. Discuss anything here.

Moderators: Brenda, Kelly

Post Reply
User avatar
Brenda
VIP II
VIP II
Posts: 2740
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:01 pm
Camera Model: Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Location: Lodi

Ithaca Dragonboat Club rocked by higher dock fees
Cass Park charge jumps from $1 to $400
5:25 PM, Apr. 18, 2011
Written by
Liz Lawyer

Members of the Ithaca Dragonboat Club are worried they may not be able to afford increased fees for their usual dock at Cass Park this season.

The club's fees increased from $1 to $400 this year per dock face, and $800 for both sides of a dock, where the long boats are moored.

City officials offered the low price of $1 in 2010 because there was no unified pricing system in place. Mayor Carolyn Peterson said Monday the price of $400 per side of the dock was based on a consultant's appraisal of their value.

The large increase, coupled with a new lottery system to determine who gets to use the docks each year, however, has dragonboaters concerned they may lose access to the water.

"There are no other good options available," said club President Robert Chapman. "I don't want to say anything incendiary, and I don't want to express being ungrateful. But we went through a lot to get the docks... I don't want to act as though we are entitled to free docks. I realize that if that's the price, that's the price and we may have to pay it."

Common Council set the price for the year at $1 last May after Alderman Eric Rosario, I-1st, suggested the council reduce the price for 2010 because the city had not yet established a formal fee structure, as required in city code, and because the Ithaca Dragonboat Club and its sponsor, the Ithaca Asian American Association, initiated the request for federal funding to build two new docks at Cass Park. The docks are owned and administered by the city.

"It was the initiative of the IAAA that led to our having those two docks now," Rosario said at the time. "Through their initiative, we now have more public access to the water."

Chapman is quick to point out that the club doesn't expect to continue getting the docks for nothing.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful for the $1," he said. "I don't expect to get it for $1."

At Common Council's meeting earlier this month, the club requested a reduction in the dock fees from $400 to $220 for the 2011 season. The council's vote was split 4-4, however, and the motion failed.

Mayor Petersons said she had hoped the Council would give the club a break, since it's a nonprofit that provides classes and services.

Chapman said the club, which is supported by dues from its approximately 70 members, may not be able to come up with that amount of money each year. This year, a community member volunteered $400 for one dock face after hearing of the fee increase.

"Some very generous person stepped forward and offered to pay for one of the docks," Chapman said. "We had this white knight."

But that's not a permanent fix for the club, he said.

"I realize in the big world of real life this is not a major pressing issue," Chapman said. "But we add something to the city. I believe we are the only upstate city that has a dragonboat festival... It's difficult with a volunteer club to raise $800 for dock fees. It's also difficult not knowing from year to year if we will get the docks. There's a sense of dismay that after pursuing a federal grant so the docks will be available ... that they may not be available to us."

Chapman said he hopes the club and the city can negotiate an arrangement that works for both sides.

"We really like being partners with the city," he said. "I think we both do a lot for each other. But I want to be more like a partner and less like a customer -- (it's like,) here's the price, take it or leave it. Don't treat me like a renter; work with me like a partner."
http://www.theithacajournal.com/article ... |FRONTPAGE
Finger Lakes Mill Creek Cabins
http://www.fingerlakescabins.com
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

sounds to me they were getting a good deal at $1... but the increase to 800? wow... that's pricey... time to move to a private marina.
User avatar
Brenda
VIP II
VIP II
Posts: 2740
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:01 pm
Camera Model: Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Location: Lodi

What galls me is that the docks wouldn't even be there had it not been for their efforts! It sounds as if their options are pretty limited.
Finger Lakes Mill Creek Cabins
http://www.fingerlakescabins.com
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Dragon boats aren't that huge and heavy... can't they just be pulled up and stored on shore by the crew?

Here's the website for the club
http://fingerlakesdragonboat.org/
Post Reply