Vero Beach wants investment, bigger financial return if it turns over management of city marina

VERO BEACH — City officials could consider new management for the Municipal Marina if the price and proposal are right.

The city wants a private company to lease the marina and operate it, and is soliciting proposals from eight companies experienced in managing city-owned marinas throughout the country, City Manager Jim O'Connor told City Council members at Tuesday's meeting.

Whether the city pursues leasing the marina — at 3611 Rio Vista Blvd. and Channel Marker 139 on the Intracoastal Waterway — depends on the proposals received, he said.

"The key is finding the right firm who could come in and already have the financial wherewithal to make the capital investment that we want to have made at the marina, and to make sure they could sustain that over time," O'Connor said.

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It could be summertime before the city makes a decision. Companies should have up to 45 days to prepare information packages about themselves and their experience, O'Connor said.

Hopefully, he said, bidders' representatives first would visit the marina to become more familiar with it.

Ideally, an operator would lease the marina and pay the city to run it, O'Connor explained Wednesday. The marina is in good financial shape, bringing in about $100,000 annually, but the council wants to see if it can do better, he said.

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While interested, council members Tuesday refrained from committing until they see the proposals. Vice Mayor Lange Sykes said his main concern is improving the marina, so he wanted a separate analysis on what changes the city could make if it continued to operate the marina.

"Then we can compare the two and see what makes the most sense," he said.

Neighbors of the marina asked the city use caution before handing over management to a company looking to make a profit.

"It will bring in more traffic to that neighborhood," said resident Ken Daige. "It's kind of a low-impact marina. Boats come here to stay. It doesn't really hurt the neighborhood too much."

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