Port Authority boss promises consultation & fairness in marina lease deals
NANAIMO — The president of the Nanaimo Port Authority (NPA) is confident that lease rates for local marinas will be set at a level that everybody will be able to live with.
Bernie Dumas’ comments come as the NPA responds to mounting concerns about rates that rapidly rose during the last evaluation in 2012.
“We’ve got an appraiser that’s doing a review and we’re going to look at it and see if the current system is going to work,” said Dumas. “If it’s going to show some serious changes, well then we’re going to have to sit down and talk to the various lessees and see what we can do to make it work,” he said.
Concerns from the Nanaimo Marina Association (NMA) about the cost of renting water are growing louder, with rates to be re-established next year. Dumas says they are mandated by Transport Canada to establish foreshore lease rates every five years. He notes that lease rates are then locked in for marina operators.