The momentum felt earlier this year by the Town of Marion in its quest for a new harbormaster’s headquarters facility has been obscured by a dark cloud of doubt.
In introducing initial budget projections for FY24, Harbormaster Isaac Perry told the Marine Resources Commission during its November 21 public meeting that he had yet to hear back from the state’s Seaport Economic Council, the agency that granted the town $1,000,000 on top of $300,000 for its design and construction of the new Marine Center at Island Wharf.
Months ago, then-Town Administrator Jay McGrail began prefacing any comments on the final $1,000,000 grant applied for as being subject to change amidst concern for the potential dissolution of the SEC when Governor Baker leaves office.
Without that final grant, the town would need to raise $1,000,000 via other means in order to build the harbormaster’s new headquarters as designed, revised and approved by a 2022 Town Meeting vote.
“And they don’t have any meetings scheduled,” said Perry. “They haven’t kept to their timeline in the past, so this isn’t out of sorts for them, especially with this current administration on its way out. But we’re still waiting to hear yay or nay on that before we take the next steps toward securing another grant. As you all know, we still need $1,000,000 to get this project up and running.”
Perry’s opening remark only introduced his discussion on the FY24 budget he will need to submit by the end of December.
He told the MRC that he and Deputy Harbormaster and Shellfish Officer Adam Murphy had been away for two weeks prior to the meeting to engage in police-reform training.
Per Marion’s town-employee policy, Perry said staff (including Perry, Murphy and Assistant Harbormaster Dave Wilson) will see a 2% wage increase for FY24.
Perry said the town made an error in placing Murphy into the town’s employee policy for FY23, and the result was a $12,800 expenditure in overtime. Perry said the $12,000 estimation would see a $1,000 bump in the FY24 budget.
Longevity increases estimated to be worth approximately $200 in annual salary will not affect FY24, but in FY25 Perry said he will go over the 20-year mark and Murphy over the 10-year mark.
Perry explained that the FY24 budget will become subject to recommendation from the Finance Committee and the Select Board and be voted upon at the Annual Town Meeting to be held most likely in May 2023.
The most drastic operational increase in the Harbormaster Department for FY24 is boat maintenance. Perry reminded the commission that he had bumped that figure up to $10,000 for the current fiscal year but has already exceeded that mark, so he plans to bump it again for FY24 to $15,000.
Beyond that, most of the department’s operational costs will remain the same for FY24.
“I don’t see any changes at this point. The police reform is the elephant in the room,” said Perry, indicating that full-time wages could be impacted but not through his department’s budget, rather the Police Department’s budget.
Overall, he projects a 3.6% increase in the FY24 operating budget.
Capital projects such as the hydraulic trailer are at least for now not feasible, given the town has no maintenance facility.
“What’s going on with the Maritime Center, are we going to take over the old DPW? Again, those things are probably going to take a few years to shake out here,” said Perry. “We kind of backed off on a lot of the stuff that we were working towards.”
Asked if he projects revenues, Perry said no, the department relies on the recent past because revenues tend not to vary beyond $10,000 annually. Off the top of his head, Perry estimated $468,000 in annual revenue for FY22.
MRC Chairman Vin Malkoski suggested the indicators are somewhat in place, but Perry said he has been told the “indirects” (revenue sources not directly controlled by the department) are going to be rolled back for FY23.
MRC member Scott Cowell asked about the progress with the new Department of Public Works facility and how that might positively impact the timeline for getting the harbormaster’s boats under shelter at the old facility on Route 6.
Perry said stress cracks are typical, but the cabin in the patrol boat is beginning to separate from the hull. “That gets exponentially worse for a foam-core boat when you leave it outside for the winter, but we just don’t have an option at this point,” he said.
Cowell said he would like to see the line item for shellfish increase for FY24. Perry said office space is always a challenge, but the space for storage of shellfish cages has become “incredibly problematic.”
“We find ourselves getting rid of more and more stuff that we typically would have held onto just because of space,” said Perry. “We’re kind of homeless when it comes to the maintenance side of things for the next couple of years, I would guess.”
Radio equipment, he said, will be funded through the Police Department, which is looking to switch over to digital technology.
Wilson provided the Harbor Management update, telling the commission members that the season equipment including floats, channel markers, moorings and the patrol and pump-out boats, was removed from the water on November 1 and put through prescribed maintenance routines. The barge was due to be removed the day after the meeting.
The pump-out boat is up to 1,700 hours and is running well, but Perry said the unavailability of parts is preventing an upgrade that has been fully funded.
Perry publicly thanked Andrew Miller for his time helping the Harbormaster Department. Miller took a job opportunity out of the area.
The Marion Marine Resources Commission set its next meeting for Monday, January 23, at 7:00 pm, at the Music Hall.
Marion Marine Resources Commission
By Mick Colageo