The following is an email message received from another resident concerned over the proposal to implement ramp fees at Battery Park Marina.
Dear Mayor Van:
Just wanted to follow up with you on something I commented about in the past. I realize that there are no immediate plans to institute ramp fees at the Battery Park Marina, but I wanted to make you privy to a little informal survey I did at about noon today (9/17) as I was walking my dog in the area under the bridge.
I counted a total of 33 vehicles with trailers parked in the area of the renovated slip. 28 had Franklin County tags on the trucks, 2 were from Jackson County, 2 from Gulf, and 1 from Wakulla. Judging by the size, construction, and general condition of the trailers, (the majority of which did NOT have license plate or taillights) they carried working boats like small shrimp boats and oyster boats.
I understand there was discussion of an exemption for seafood harvesters, but I report the above to you as snapshot of information from a weekday, that may or may not be representative of the amount of potential income from ramp fees. It would be interesting to do a similar survey on a weekend.
You probably think I am beating a dead horse with this issue, but I think it always pays to look at the potential negative fallout from a fee versus it’s potential merit or revenue. I certainly didn’t know who was using the ramps, and I was surprised by the findings of my informal survey.
Yours truly,
Robin Vroegop
Dear Mayor Van:
Just wanted to follow up with you on something I commented about in the past. I realize that there are no immediate plans to institute ramp fees at the Battery Park Marina, but I wanted to make you privy to a little informal survey I did at about noon today (9/17) as I was walking my dog in the area under the bridge.
I counted a total of 33 vehicles with trailers parked in the area of the renovated slip. 28 had Franklin County tags on the trucks, 2 were from Jackson County, 2 from Gulf, and 1 from Wakulla. Judging by the size, construction, and general condition of the trailers, (the majority of which did NOT have license plate or taillights) they carried working boats like small shrimp boats and oyster boats.
I understand there was discussion of an exemption for seafood harvesters, but I report the above to you as snapshot of information from a weekday, that may or may not be representative of the amount of potential income from ramp fees. It would be interesting to do a similar survey on a weekend.
You probably think I am beating a dead horse with this issue, but I think it always pays to look at the potential negative fallout from a fee versus it’s potential merit or revenue. I certainly didn’t know who was using the ramps, and I was surprised by the findings of my informal survey.
Yours truly,
Robin Vroegop
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