NORTH EAST TWP. — Township supervisors on Monday authorized their solicitor to begin drafting a resolution on the future of the North East Marina.

But that resolution — like the action taken by the three-member panel Monday morning — will stop short of forming an authority that would take ownership of the marina from the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, which plans to close the marina’s private docks this summer amid rising costs for annual maintenance, specifically dredging and sand movement.

The proposal to form an authority is far from dead, but following a Feb. 13 meeting at state Rep. Jake Banta’s office that included state Sen. Dan Laughlin, representatives from both North East Borough Council and the township Board of Supervisors, their respective legal counsel and the Fish & Boat Commission, supervisors now hope to create a business plan for the marina first.

Solicitor Tim Wachter cited the annual maintenance costs and other capital improvements that are needed at the marina that the authority would inherit upon taking possession of the Lake Erie facility from the state agency. The Fish & Boat Commission would deduct the cost of that work from the value of the marina in order to transfer it to the proposed authority at no cost. Otherwise, it would be bound by strict laws for disposing of state-owned property.

“There’s no such thing as a free marina,” Wachter said.

“We want to make sure the authority has every possible chance to succeed,” added Supervisor Russ LaFuria, who was the designated representative for Board of Supervisors at the Feb. 13 meeting.

Several of the 20 residents who attended Monday’s meeting urged the township to form the authority and said that it, not the township or the borough, should be the one to undertake such a plan.

What they said

“We’re just dragging our feet, meeting after meeting,” said North East resident Jamie Lamb, who has lived along the lakefront to the east of the marina most of her life. “I don’t think we’re getting anywhere.”

Another resident, Aaron Jelley, told supervisors they were leaving the impression that they were trying to find reasons not to move forward with the marina authority.

“You’re doing all this decision-making without them,” Jelley said.

Supervisor Frederick Shunk said some people in the community have acted as though the marina authority already exists, going as far as setting up a Facebook page for it. Supervisors, both Shunk and LaFuria insisted, hope for the same outcome.

“But going into this blind would be a mistake,” Shunk said.

What’s next

North East Borough Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday, and could move ahead with a similar resolution, said Borough Councilmember Heather Jones, who attended supervisors’ morning meeting.

Jones said that she believes an authority could be formed now and handle the work of developing a business plan, but that she understands supervisors’ concerns. Even if Borough Council voted to create an authority at its meeting Monday evening, nothing could proceed without the township.

“I’ve looked at everything the community members (who have been spearheading the authority proposal) have put together and it all does seem viable,” Jones said. “But I do understand everyone’s need to know the numbers.”

Township Solicitor Tim Wachter will seek guidance from the Fish & Boat Commission on language for a resolution, which would formalize the North East borough and township’s interest in the marina. The resolution is key to receiving funding from the Fish & Boat Commission through its Boat Access Planning Grant program. The application period for the program is currently closed and the agency would need to reopen it.

Because it is a matching grant program, the township and borough would have to find the other half of the cost for a business plan. The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority is a potential source for that match, but it would also need to reopen its application window, said Wachter, who also serves as the solicitor for ECGRA. Because of Wachter’s conflict, he’s asked North East Borough Manager Pat Gehrlein to begin talks with ECGRA.

Wachter is also exploring possible ways to convert as much as $12.5 million in capital improvement allocations for the marina by the Fish & Boat Commission into money that could be used by a local authority. He said one potential method might be the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com or on X at @ETNRink.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Proposed North East Marina authority on hold, township wants plan first