By Roger Gitlin – EYE ON DEL NORTE – February 17, 2021

At Thursday, December 16th Special Meeting of the Crescent City Harbor District was refreshingly productive and informational…

No disrespect intended, the Meeting to discuss the codification of Harbor ordinances was productive and positive despite Harbor president Brian Stone’s best efforts to gloss over all the errors on the Ordinances published in The Triplicate attached a cost of just under $1,000.

Commissioners rejected Stone’s motion and voted to scrutinize each and every page of the Ordinances despite Stone’s best effort to pass them into Code first, then go back and amend each mistake, unclarity, vague verbiage and several typos, all in an effort to avoid republishing fees. Very telling and shorted sighted thinking.

In the past, with virtually no one looking at Harbor activity and near-invisible public opposition, Stone’s gloss over would have probably succeeded.

Not today. And may this be a sign there is a real and very positive change of culture on-going in the Crescent City Harbor.

BRAVO!

Changes to the Ordinances clarified and removed language on vessel width which may compromise the successful “parking” of TWO vessels in a single slip and if width of the vessel impairs the process, the appropriate response on slip fees may be c l e a r l y addressed.

There were other small (but not so small) changes in substituting “Excluded ” for “included” in allowing the use of disposal of boat trash in Harbor dumpsters by tenants.

Who’s responsible for the original discussion (and debacle) on the codifying of the Ordinances?

Answer: Harbor president Brian Stone and Harbormaster Tim Petrick both did not do their jobs in preparing Harbor Commissioners with all the correct information..

Inexcusable!

Change in leadership cannot come soon enough.

I was favorably impressed with Commissioners Rick Shepherd, Harry Adams who I hope become the new president and Secretary, respectively and Gerhard Weber who arduously and painstakingly held firm in not taking a “lunch break,” and changing language where it was needed.

Congratulations!

Stone at times seemed indifferent and impatient in moving on this arduous process and several times, uttering to “…let you guys handle it.” Shocking!!!I

t was clear there is an on-going changing of the guard on the Crescent City Harbor District.

Tuesday at 2 pm, The Harbor meets to nominate new leadership.