Should the marina at the Hood River waterfront be expanded?

That was one of many questions the Port of Hood River posed to boaters Thursday night during a public meeting.

The port contracted with Andrew Jansky of Flowing Solutions Inc., an independent civil engineer, and Brad Howton, general manager of Columbia Crossings moorage facilities on Hayden Island.

The two developed the Marina Basin Study June 28, which was presented to port commissioners at their last meeting. The entire document is available online at http://www.hoodriveryachtclub.org/.

“The possibility of building another marina this size along the Columbia River is very small,” Howton said. “You have a unique opportunity here. The decisions about what to use the water for have to be decided before you drive the first piling or lay the first dock.”

The plan looked at the existing infrastructure, market or demand, expansion options, rates, maintenance, safety and other opportunities. One of the ideas that received many positive comments was creating dry storage for dinghies.

The port decided to look into the idea because of a waiting list, which has grown in recent years. There are 113 on the waiting list this summer, nearly doubling last summer’s 65 or so. Howton and Jansky said their analysis showed the potential market for adding more slips was firm, especially with the growing interest by sail boaters in the region.

“I don’t know if you realize just how much Cascade Locks is drawing competitive sailors from all over the West, especially San Francisco and Seattle, but the East Coast, too,” Howton said.

He and others at the meeting commented that while Cascade Locks is an excellent sailing site, the room for expansion there is limited, as well as additional activities.

“Hood River has more amenities; while all you can do at Cascade Locks is sail all the time,” Howton said.

While the plan proposes adding 16 30-foot, 28 30-foot and 10 40-foot slips during a three-phase plan; the first obstacle the port would face is a major overhaul of the marina’s electrical system.

The report cites that the existing system does not have adequate capacity. Jansky said the system was put in at a time when 15-amp connections were the standard; 30 and 50 amp connections are the standard today. The cost for installation and design is estimated at $250,000 to $300,000.

How to pay for that upgrade is one of the next steps that staff will look at in the coming two weeks before presenting a recommendation to the port commission. The suggestion to increase rates to offset the cost did not sit well with Parkdale resident Mike Byrne.

“This is a public marina; not private, right?” he said. “I’m in favor of the hoist and dry storage but I’m concerned about moorage going up. I do not want to see my rates go up just so we can get more people in here from Portland.”

Other boaters, a mix of sailors and power boaters, were in favor, doing away with reserving space for floatplanes, having more space set aside for youth sailing programs and adding a self-operated hoist.

“I would just as soon have my boat on a trailer and lower it each time,” said Brian Petros, the commodore for the Hood River Yacht Club. “That is the issue at Cascade Locks; there is no room to moor and no room to lower boats in.”

The group also discussed subletting spaces, using the Marina Green for boat storage, the former maintenance area for boats, a higher rate system for out-of-area residents and stopping monthly leases.