NORTHEAST — The borough council will welcome five people to serve on the new community marina authority when it meets in regular session Monday evening.
The next day, it will file its articles of incorporation with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office.
And then the work begins.
What community members have been asking for for more than six months – the formation of an authority – will allow the new entity to begin negotiations with the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission for the transfer of ownership of the Northeast Marina , 11950 East Lake Road.
On April 1, the borough council passed a resolution to form the authority and seek candidates to serve on the inaugural board. The deadline for applications was April 30. At its April 15 meeting, the borough council approved the articles of incorporation for the North East Community Marina Authority.
Nine people applied to be part of the authority, according to borough council member Heather Jones.
Initially, the authority was supposed to be a joint venture between the borough and township, but Northeast Township supervisors announced in February that they would conduct an economic impact study to learn more about potential costs operating the marina and how to generate sufficient revenue. income from regional assets. The borough council, however, chose to move forward in the hope of retaining as many boaters as possible.
Last week, a Northeast Community Marina Facebook page informed boaters in a post that they were not required to remove their boats from marina property, but it’s unclear if the new authority will be able to keep more than 200 private boats open. boat slips that the Fish & Boat Commission has closed for the current boating season.
Jones said that while the township will form the authority, township supervisors are still encouraged to play a role in it when and if they determine they are ready.
“At the end of the day, we know we are better together,” Jones said of the borough and township’s joint role in shaping the authority.
Efforts to save marina begin
State Rep. Jake Banta, R-4th Dist., and resident Dan Adamus, a trustee of the North East Community Foundation and a member of Fuller Hose Co., began their efforts to save the marina in 2023 after the Fish & Boat Commission. announced that it would close private boat piers for the 2024 nautical season.
The Fish & Boat Commission chose to close the private slipways due to new dredging requirements that increased the cost of annual maintenance as well as the cost of moving sand from the west side of the marina basin to the east side to prevent erosion downstream. . These costs have made operating the marina – the only one under the authority of the Fish & Boat Commission in the entire state – financially burdensome for the state agency. Another issue was the discovery of dangerous power lines on the docks and the associated potential costs…
