An Idea To Consider: Close The Marina Once And For All

There is a lot of talk about the marina these days, a lot of continuing discussion about how it’s a jewel, how the city should do all it can to keep it going, how it adds to the charm of our city.

All this talk is occurring because the city is poised to spend another $1 million in park bond and donation money on dredging the marina, in the hopes that it can entice charter and pleasure boats back, at least to the point where it can sustain itself.

But there is certainly no guarantee that this is going to happen. Our marina is fairly famous for the level of siltation that occurs there. And it turns out that, according to sources I absolutely trust, it was built in the wrong place to begin with. When the marina was being designed, the Italian fishermen, who knew these waters better than anyone, warned that the location was wrong, that it would just keep filling up with mud. But the powers that be didn’t listen to them – and this was not a new development. The Italians in this town were ignored by the “powers that be” for many, many years.

And yet, today we have a marina that is continually filling up with silt, a state that is broke, a city on the brink of broke, and a lot of people who are continuously upset that there doesn’t seem to be a way to fix it.

I’m going to propose something: perhaps there is no way to fix it. Perhaps it was built in the wrong location to begin with. Perhaps the city should consider admitting that, and letting the notion of having a marina go. Perhaps instead of boat storage, the place could be a boat launch, with kayak rentals and other water-related activities. There are many, many people with boats in town – they keep them at home. But they need a place to launch them. Why not at what is now the marina?

That would not preclude a restaurant. You don’t need a marina to have a restaurant. You could still take full advantage of the waterfront area for recreation and dining.

But losing the marina would mean putting the city’s funds to beneficial use for a large number of citizens. Right now, the council is considering spending a large portion of the city’s share of Measure WW money, which comes from an East Bay Regional Park bond, on dredging the marina. Who does that benefit? The boat owners. And once that dredge is done, they’re going to have to turn around and do it again, very soon. Where does that money come from?

Measure WW money was intended for parks, not dredging. It certainly doesn’t benefit a large number of residents, at least not directly. An argument could be made that a working marina gives Martinez a charm it would otherwise not have. I would argue that the marina isn’t really working, and hasn’t for a long, long time.

Instead of spending money we don’t really have on an amenity that most of Martinez doesn’t really get to enjoy, why not just turn the facility into a boat launch and spend the money elsewhere?

The city has tried to make it work. It’s not working, but it keeps trying anyway. That, if I’m not mistaken, is the definition of insanity. Keep trying the same thing, and expecting different results.

The marina was a good idea. It just didn’t work out. There’s no crime in that, but to continue pouring millions of dollars into an idea that doesn’t work doesn’t seem well advised.