Bob Voyles, Joe Ladner, Ed Towey, David Paulson, Steve Pavek, Council Liaison Kim Crockett, City Administrator Dana Young

Larry Parkhurst, Oliver Arrett, John Gresens, Pete Onstad

The Committee approved the March 10, 2004 minutes on a motion by Joe Ladner, seconded by Ed Towey. Motion declared carried.

Dana Young stated that last year the Boat Committee had recommended establishing a revised waiting list that required all residents to submit an application form that indicated their waiting list preference and to submit an administrative fee of $5.00 for each waiting list. He stated that the City Council approved the Committee’s recommendation and public notice was sent to each resident on the current waiting list requiring each to submit their waiting list preferences and fee by March 15, 2004. Joe Ladner asked whether the March 15^th deadline was stated firmly in the letter. Dana Young stated that it was his intention after the first letter was sent out to send out a final letter following the March 15^th deadline. Kim Crockett stated that she disagreed with Mr. Young and felt that the deadline was clearly stated in the letter and supported her claim by reading directly from a copy of the letter.

David Paulson stated that there had been tremendous public discussion on boats and the message that was brought back to this Committee was that watercraft spaces are highly valued resources and that people have been very conscientious in submitting the required documentation needed to retain their spaces.

Ed Towey stated that the Boat Committee has had a history of not granting much relief to those individuals who missed other deadlines and that the City Council had the responsibility of making the final decision on these issues. He stated that there are two options he would like to present. First, in light of past Committee decisions, he stated that we could simply deny their request and let those in attendance go directly to the City Council. The second option would be to reinstate them back onto the waiting list. He stated that the primary purpose of reducing the waiting list has been achieved and adding these folks back to the list won’t change the significant reductions that have already been made.

David Paulson stated that the Boat Committee has been accused of being too generous by allowing individuals in the past to retain their watercraft space or place on the waiting list.

Kim Crockett stated that the Boat Committee should be viewed as the trial court where the Committee is charged with reviewing the facts. She stated that if your best argument to retain your spot on the waiting list is that you forgot to turn in the required information, it probably is not a good enough explanation. She stated that the City Council acts as the Court of Appeals.

Bob Voyles invited those in attendance to speak on the waiting list deadline.

Brian Larson, 18920 Park Avenue – Mr. Larson stated that he is requesting that he be reinstated on the waiting list. He stated that the he is at fault for not turning the application in on time as both he and his wife thought that the other had turned the application in to City Hall. He stated that he would be prepared to make his presentation to the City Council on April 19^th.

Charles Johnson, 18145 Hummingbird Road – Mr. Johnson also stated that both he and his wife had thought the other had turned in the application. He stated that he would like to ask the Committee for leniency. He stated that the punishment was too severe for simply missing a deadline by six days.

David Struyk, 3921 Tramore Lane – Mr. Struyk stated that he had told his wife that the application had to be turned in by Corporate Tax Day, which is March 15^th, and his wife had assumed he meant April 15^th. He added that he felt that the penalty was awfully harsh for those who missed the deadline. He stated that he could understand doubling the fee or imposing a $50 penalty but removing them from the list was too harsh.

Anne Albertson, 4225 Northern Road – Ms. Albertson stated that they had always returned the boat cards promptly throughout the years. She stated that they simply missed the deadline this time.

Dave Kowalkowski, 4840 Highcrest Drive – Mr. Kowalkowski stated that he never received a letter from the City. He stated that he had called the City and found out about this meeting late last week.

Steve Ferrall, 3840 Fairhomes Road – Mr. Ferrall stated that he travels a bit and had placed the City’s letter and application form in a stack of papers to be filed at a later date and simply did not find it in time to make the deadline. He stated that he did not think that one mistake should get you kicked off the list.

Chris Thompson, 3615 Highland Avenue – Mr. Thompson stated that he offered to pay the $5.00 fee to the City early in January but was told to wait until the application forms were sent out. He stated that he never received a letter or application form from the City.

Bob Voyles thanked those in attendance and asked the Committee members for their comments.

Ed Towey stated that he felt that everyone who showed up tonight should retain his or her space and that the goal to reduce the waiting list was still accomplished.

David Paulson stated that this has been the first year for the changes to the waiting list and would be inclined to let those in attendance tonight keep their spot on the waiting list.

Steve Pavek stated that he agreed with David Paulson. He stated that those individuals who showed up should retain their spot on the waiting list.

Bob Voyles stated that there has to be some proportionality to this issue. He stated that the punishment is significantly greater than the crime.

The Committee recommended that Brian Larson, Charles Johnson, David Struyk, Anne Albertson, Dave Kowalkowski, Steve Ferrall and Chris Thompson be allowed to retain their place on the waiting list on a motion by Ed Towey, seconded by Ladner. Motion declared carried.

Robert Elwell, 4505 Chickadee Lane, was present to request an amendment to the Residential Mooring Lease that reads "with reservation of all surviving rights and privileges of prior year’s permits". He distributed a letter to each Committee member that included the following statements:

1. He is appearing before the Boat Committee with respect to Buoy #21 & Slide #56 in St. Louis Bay.
2. He is requesting the issuance of permits to use his Buoy and Slide.
3. He asked that the record reflect that he respectfully objects to the participation of any and all Committee members with a conflict of interest due to their positions on the waiting list for a buoy and/or a slide.
4. He stated that he has had a permanent buoy and slide since 1994 and understood the rules for Deephaven moorage to be that you first must wait and then you finally receive a Deephaven moorage. If you follow the rules, the moorage is yours until you move away or die or fail to renew. He stated that when he received notice that he had finally received his permanent buoy, his notification letter dated December 28, 1993 stated that "this is now your permanent position unless you request to be relocated or fail to renew this space each year". He stated that this statement is in direct conflict with the third sentence of the thirteenth paragraph of the Mooring Lease which reads as follows "The Resident acknowledges that the renewal of this Lease is at the sole discretion of the City and that no commitment has been made to the Resident that this lease will be extended or renewed".
5. He stated that the new city lease attempts to require him to divest himself from his surviving rights and entitlements granted him from prior years Deephaven Moorage’s and spaces in order to receive a permit this year.
6. The amendment that he offers to the Lease Agreement reserves his differences with the City.
7. He stated that further evidence of the existence of entitlements and rights is located in 900.08 of the Deephaven City Code which characterizes rights and entitlements in permits and waiting list priorities which may be waived for a single year but lost under certain other conditions.
8. He stated that further evidence that there is currently no time limit is contained in the March 31, 2003 letter from former Mayor Bennis.
9. He stated that further evidence could be found on the web site where the waiting list priority is now "automatically preserved".
10. In his final statement, Mr. Elwell stated that he has expended considerable personal and financial investment upon the City of Deephaven boat system since 1987. He stated that he has fulfilled all lawful requirements to maintain his rights to moorage space. In conclusion, he stated that the 2004 moorage season is two weeks old and respectfully request permits for his permanent moorage spaces.

Ed Towey stated that Mr. Elwell is claiming that he has an entitlement, which runs counter to the beliefs of this Committee and the City Council. He added that this Committee has discussed the possibility of term limits and that Mr. Elwell cannot be guaranteed that he will have a moorage space in perpetuity. Kim Crockett added that the City reserves the right to change the terms of the lease with its residents. She stated that Mr. Elwell could pursue his position through the courts. She stated that the City might need to consider the possibility of limiting the resource to enable others to enjoy the resource as well.

Bob Voyles asked the members what should be done with Mr. Elwell’s buoy and slide for the 2004 season if he is not willing to sign the Mooring Lease Agreement as it currently reads. The Committee recommended that Mr. Elwell consider subletting for one year until this issue can be resolved legally.

Steve Dickie, 3840 Talton Place, stated that he is here tonight to represent his neighbor, David Rogers, who resides at 3865 Talton Place. Mr. Dickie stated that he and Mr. Rogers jointly lease a slide and Mr. Rogers was recently told that a sublet for a dock slip has recently become available. Mr. Dickie asked if he and Mr. Rogers would be entitled to have both the slide and the dock slip for the 2004 season. Bob Voyles stated that they could sublet the slide for the year and obtain a permit for the dock slip for one year but otherwise individuals are not able to obtain two permits for watercraft space unless they have a sailboat which requires a slide or canoe rack. Mr. Dickie requested that he and Mr. Rogers be sent a copy of that particular section of the City Code.

Mike Daly, 3325 Shavers Lake Road, stated that he would recommend that City staff be able to provide new permit holders with information concerning the potential future changes that might happen to a particular watercraft space. He added that there are some newer residents are unrealistic with the expectation that they should be able to receive a watercraft space with 3-5 years. He stated that there should be the recognition that obtaining a watercraft space is a privilege that is directly related to the amount of time a resident has lived in Deephaven. He added that it would be helpful to include locations of slides and street end slides on the web site.

Dana Young provided an update on the status of the waiting list, current boat space vacancies and on the progress in submitting Mooring Lease material:

Waiting List Summary

Current Boat Space Vacancies

Mooring Lease material – Dana Young stated that on March 31^st there were a total of 50 residents that had not yet submitted the required information along with their Mooring Lease Agreement. Of this total, 21 residents were currently looking to purchase a new boat, 3 residents will submit the required information once their boat is out of storage, and 26 residents were given handed delivered notice that they have until April 30^th to submit the required information.

Steve Pavek presented the following action plan on behalf of the Compliance Subcommittee:

• Compliance onsite inspection with all members on June 1^st with a follow-up inspection on June 16^th.
• Regularly scheduled compliance inspections of all resources including vessel specifications, seaworthiness, and winches/rollers on slides.
• Development of notification process / timeline and what the consequences would be – completion and recommended submittal on September 1^st.
• Review current police inspection process.
• Review current process of auditing titles, registration and insurance – completion and recommend submittal on September 15^th.
• Development of new maps for St. Louis and Carson’s Bay.
• Install numbers on slides.
• Develop appropriate penalties for non-compliance issues.

Steve Pavek added that the Subcommittee intends to look at the width of boats on slides at their next meeting including developing specifications and standards on slides and seaworthiness.

Further discussion was held on different designs of slides that were presented at the Boat Show. Bob Voyles stated that it would be ideal to be able to accommodate larger boats on larger slides and also provide a second class of slides for smaller boats. It was the consensus of the Committee to invite the slide manufacturer to an upcoming meeting to allow members to review the slide in more detail.

The Committee approved the language of the proposed ordinance amending the definitions of watercraft and lease.

Motion to adjourn by David Paulson, seconded by Joe Ladner. Motion declared carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. The next scheduled meeting of the Boat Committee will be held on Wednesday, May 12^th.