The Oak Bluffs harbor is upping its mooring fee to $50 per day for the summer season.
Last year, boaters could moor in the marina for $20 for just the day, or $50 overnight. But harbor master Emily deBettencourt explained that the two-tier fee system was difficult to track.
Now, the harbor will charge a $50 flat rate regardless of whether boats stay in the harbor overnight.
Ms. deBettencourt initially proposed raising the mooring fee to $40, but select board members pushed for the higher price at its meeting on Tuesday, after learning that the raised rate would still make the Oak Bluffs harbor the cheapest on the Island.
“You’d be lowering the original night fee,” said board member Gail Barmakian. “What goes lower these days?”
Ms. deBettencourt said that she thought the jump would be too steep, but ultimately agreed with the board that the harbor deserves the price increase.
“[The boaters] are here to enjoy our lovely town, and I just don’t think it’s productive for us financially to be lower than our neighbors,” said town administrator Deborah Potter.
Later in the meeting, board member Dion Alley expressed frustration about of the Martha’s Vineyard Marathon that was held last Saturday.
The event brought nearly 1,000 people to the Island. The race course traveled around Edgartown and Katama, and ended in a celebration at Waban Park in Oak Bluffs.
“Next year we’ll need to meet with the marathon folks more to discuss how to better handle this,” he said. “I realize it’s a big event, but parts of it were out of control.”
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