Sandusky locks in more seasonal docks at Paper District Marina

SANDUSKY — Next boating season, expect more seasonal dockage at the Paper District Marina.During a recent meeting, Sandusky city commissioners approved increasing the number of long-term docking spaces at the public boating facility off West Shoreline Drive.The 62-slip marina now features 27 seasonal docks and 35 transient, or short-term, docks. In 2016, there were 22 seasonal docks and 40 transient docks.Swapping out some transient dockage in favor of seasonal dockage could create additional income for marina operations."The increase in the number of seasonal docks makes sense for everybody," marina manager Jim Kennedy said. "A lot of boaters have been expressing interest in docking there seasonally. We ended 2016 with a waiting list, so now we can fill some of the empty docks that sat vacant during some weekdays and weekends."Kennedy personally made the recommendation to the city commission. He, along with his company, Lake Erie Towing/Towboat U.S., began managing the marina in 2016.New oversight helped the marina eke out a small surplus, about $2,000 in 2016. It's a major accomplishment when considering the boating facility lost money in each year since opening in 2011. Those shortfalls collectively totaled about $118,000 in public funds.At this time, Sandusky officials support capping the number of seasonal docks at 27."The marina is meant to have a majority of transient docks to drive visiting boaters to check out downtown Sandusky restaurants and shops," city recreation superintendent Victoria Kurt said.Dockage dissectionIn total, there are 62 docks at the Paper District Marina.Here's a breakdown of the number of transient (short-term) and seasonal (long-term) docks:Dock/Year 2016 2017Seasonal 22 27Transient 40 35Source: Sandusky recreation departmentReach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.Paper