City, Dredge Thyself, Citizen Urges

The is receiving a lot of attention these days; the City Council recently approved a $1.2 million dredging and reconstruction plan aimed at attracting boaters back to the facility. Another idea is being floated by a Park, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission member to .

And now, resident Phil Ciaramitaro is proposing yet another option: that instead of hiring a dredging company to clear the river silt from the marina, the city spend that money on its own dredging machine.

Ciaramitaro earlier this month, and on Tuesday reiterated his idea to the PRMCC. He said that Cobourg, a city on Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada, recently purchased a dredging machine for just over $600,000 to maintain their boat harbor. When the city isn’t using it, they lease it out to other municipalities.

“Spending $1.2 million over four years is so fiscally irresponsible I have to speak out,” Ciaramitaro told the PRMCC. “I hope you will ask the council for an appeal (of its decision) and bring it back here for vetting. It’s way too much money for us to neglect and not look at this. If I were an attorney I would file a cease and desist order immediately. The city is not being good stewards” of park bond money approved by East Bay voters, he said.

The reference is to Measure WW, a park bond approved in 2008 by voters throughout the East Bay Regional Park District. Martinez has about $1.2 million of WW funds remaining.

“By doing this, we’re not just saving money, it’s telling the rest of the community that we really mean business,” Ciaramitaro said. “If there’s the political will, it will get done.”

Commissioner Don Pollatta said he read the report Ciaramitaro provided from Cobourg.

“It’s kind of a blueprint there on how that city went about buying the dredger,” he said. “I think the dredger idea could pay for itself in time.”

“My gut reaction tells me that for the city to buy this dredger and use it for its own purposes would not pencil out,” said commissioner Bryan Eychner, “but if there was a way to enter into a joint powers agreement with other cities, it could work. I think it’s something we could pursue.”

Mayor Rob Schroder said Thursday that he doesn't believe the answer is as easy as Ciaramitaro believes it is. 

"It's a good idea to explore for the future," Schroder said, "but it's not just a matter of getting out there with a big suction thing. There's the issue of securing the equipment and getting it approved. Dredging is regulated by the state, and many mutiple agencies. It's not as simple as buying one and starting work. I wish it was. I've been in the local government arena for 16 years, and I know that things just don’t work that easily. It would take at least a year or more even if you have the money. Right now we're looking at the more immediate issue. I know (Ciaramitaro) believes this is a solution to the immediate problem. I disagree."

The PRMCC will schedule the suggestion for a future meeting for further discussion.

What do you think? Should the city investigate purchasing its own dredging machine?