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Home My WebLink About11 - Summary Review of First Eight Months of Operation of the City's Visitor -Serving Marina at Marina Park (First Boating Season)e �EwPoRT CITY OF z NEWPORT BEACH City Council Staff Report October 25, 2016 Agenda Item No. 11 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: David A. Webb, Public Works Director - 949-644-3311, dawebb@newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Shannon Levin, Harbor Analyst, SLLevin@newportbeachca.gov PHONE: 949-644-3041 TITLE: Summary Review of First Eight Months of Operation of the City's Visitor -Serving Marina at Marina Park (First Boating Season) /11 M1 d:ZT" 0 The new City marina at Marina Park has now been open for operation and nightly rentals since February 2016. This report is being provided to City Council and the public as a snapshot review of its first boating season including marketing efforts, rental statistics and revenue. RECOMMENDATION: a) Determine that the action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because it will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and b) Receive and file. FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: The current adopted budget includes sufficient funding for this programming. Revenue is deposited to the Marina Park Slips account in the Public Works Department. DISCUSSION: The new marina at Marina Park ("Marina Park") is the first dedicated, visitor -serving marina in Newport Harbor and Orange County. With 23 visitor slips, each having in -slip utilities and Wi-Fi, as well as onshore facilities available to guests such as restrooms, showers and laundry, Marina Park is fast becoming a destination for local and visiting boaters. Marina Park Update- Marina Rentals and Revenue October 25, 2016 Page 2 A series of new tasks were undertaken over the past sixteen (16) months in order to open and operate the new marina for business, including advertising its existence and developing a customer base. In November 2015, City Council approved the daily slip rental rates as well as a contract with Basin Marine, Inc. to provide on-site management services. Additionally, staff worked to review, select and implement a new Web -based slip management software program to accommodate reservation and payments. After multiple test runs and refinement, Marina Ware launched its software in January 2016 providing a database to manage customer information, reservations, insurance and vessel documentation, electrical meter reading, and slip rent. Marina Ware also provides a platform for visitors to book online reservations at www.newportbeachca.gov/marinapark. r��-,leer cf"110;7 4 ��'* '•fl'rf. • r,y �. ,��rrr 'Ft�4C}ce>tC:.dIC.+.r�^:� MARINA PARK %a = C. , C= rias no ae.,_...n.Uaa .�Luaau oa__ Slip into Paradise Vacation or wart w. n.as aro ft—ftaI j=charm of NPM_ B_h 'hp inlo parad,se Gorse min the =:de sancn V In alM ,n the heel 4 Phe vtyh', W heunes. dm,ngshopping and he+emr f—t IMam d. 8,nwean saa sPMsatid scenic wews. eniw ml the I—. d a world-class marina NewpM 13eachs rk rest awam-wmnrg manna ,s naw Woo ng —9m sups. Download tM Mar. Park. slip -HA amehuta to learn n1IXe abb-R -["g' ap. Visitor serving Marina Amenities shorn P>•.uer aM water Imskp lwmp-d F—WFi 1 Stare -0f -the an 1--rY. warm showers arta Ma .T. 7 i. d0.ixre commumry and saking c enter R� Orvsite beach catp, catenrg, and IMc nit a,ce Bay hM, rwW��aNI mad dayN,owd Oun'd'pr fdness c-0 aM bashMbad C 0u PaA+ing 949-270-8159 ince Wase 9an:oa aha. r`d-An' City and contract staffs were trained to operate all marina equipment including the hoist crane, electrical system and metering, mobile wastewater pumpout unit, other marina features, and were provided necessary safety training. Reservations were slow for the first several months, but quickly picked up as advertising material was distributed and boating season opened in late spring. Boaters may stay from one night up to 30 nights. Slip choices include two 55 -foot slips and 21 40 -foot slips. 11-2 Marina Park Update- Marina Rentals and Revenue October 25, 2016 Page 3 Advertising and Marketing for the Marina Multiple media platforms have been used to advertise slip rentals for Marina Park. Alternating quarter -page and half -page ads were run in The Log, published every two weeks. The same advertisement was displayed online at thelog.com. Glossy bi-fold brochures were created and mailed to all yacht clubs on the Pacific Coast from San Diego to Seattle. The most creative marketing tool is a postcard depicting the entire facility from park to marina (see below) that is provided to guests. Guests can fill out the postcard and return it our staff, and we will mail on their behalf. The unique design also allows for people to keep the card and use it as a bookmark or other memorabilia. DIAL DO(W MY 10A1 AND HAVING 111 TIME Of MY LIfI Ai MARINA PARK IN N W 911 B[ACV! YOU CAN GO iAItINC, PAD DIf LOAHING, THIII IS A LASKITLAIL COUP, fLAIGIDJND, AND ILASIB FOL ALL AGES! W f R E Hf,,4Fi o� ID OHM LACE ADHM STAMP HERE €, CDUP�I�Y Other current advertisements can be found in the October 2016 issue of the boating magazine, Latitude 38. In addition to continuing advertisements within marine related publications, future advertising and marketing efforts will include more outreach to yacht clubs and cruising clubs. ,moi.V.44- SLIP RENTAL HARINA PARK 11-3 Marina Park Update- Marina Rentals and Revenue October 25, 2016 Page 4 Occupancy Occupancy was tracked as nights -stayed. Typically, activity peaks with Friday arrivals and departures on Sunday or Monday. Holidays such as the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends were booked to full occupancy weeks in advance. The two 55 -foot slips are currently the most sought after in the marina. It is not unusual to have a waiting list for them. The first season occupancies are shown in the table below. As expected the occupancy notably increased during the summer months, peaking in July and August. 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Month Occupancy (nights per month) % Occupied February 47 7% March 126 18% April 124 18 May 151 21% June 199 29% July 294 41% August 248 35% September 256 37% Occupancy Nights ■ Occupancy Nights These occupancy figures constitute the first eight months of operation of Marina Park. With these opening season occupancy rates and spreading knowledge of the facility, we anticipate an increasingly active and busy 2017 boating season. We received a lot of positive comments from 2016's marina guests who plan on visiting again. 11-4 Marina Park Update- Marina Rentals and Revenue October 25, 2016 Page 5 Reservations can be made up to six months in advance. At this time the marina is more than half -booked for the Christmas Boat Parade week. There is a large interest list for the next Newport to Ensenada race that takes place in April 2017. The Newport to Ensenada party is currently booked in the event room at Marina Park and we anticipate full occupancy with sailboats readying for the race. Approximately 80% of our marina guests were from California. Most of the Californians were local with homeports ranging from Santa Barbara, Marina del Rey, Long Beach, Newport Beach, and San Diego County. Other visitors came from Canada, Mexico, Washington, Oregon, and a handful from the East Coast. RPvPni iP Slip rates are $60 per night for 40 -foot slips and $82.50 per night for 55 -foot slips. Overhang charge is $1.50 per foot. The largest vessel the marina can accommodate is 65 feet in a 55 -foot slip yielding $97.50 per night. As previously stated, the two larger slips have the highest demand. Included in the nightly rent is access to the dock master seven days a week, in -slip pumpout provided by the dock master, private restrooms and showers, laundry, water and Wi-Fi. At full occupancy with all slips booked every night, the yield would be approximately $42,000 per month. The highest return was in July 2016 with 43% of fully -projected revenue. 2016 Monthlv Slip Rent Revenue Month Revenue February $2,942 March $6,487 April $5,193 May $7,281 June $11,979 July $18,032 August $17,539 September $15,207 Tota 1 $84,660 Marina Park is managed by one City staff tasked with the oversight of the contracted vendor, Basin Marine, Inc. Two dock masters share the 7 -day workweek so that every service continues uninterrupted. Basin Marine, Inc. was awarded the two-year contract for marina management in October 2015. 11-5 $45,000 $40,000 $35,000 $30,000 $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 $0 Marina Park Update- Marina Rentals and Revenue October 25, 2016 Page 6 2016 Marina Park Costs & Slip Rent Revenue Revenue ■ Potential Revenue ■ Contract Costs As can be seen in the above chart, revenue has exceeded costs in just July and August, with a near -equal September. We are optimistic that 2017 will be significantly better as more people are aware of the marina. Our west coast marketing is reaching boaters from Canada to Mexico with advertisements in The Log newspaper and Latitude 38. Marina Park has garnered a sterling reputation as a destination with state of the art facilities and customer service. We are seeing high numbers of repeat customers and as word of mouth spreads we continually bring in new tenants. Other marinas and marine businesses are referring customers to Marina Park. Marina Park tenants are using local restaurants, shops and services during their stay. As a gesture, boaters are starting a tradition of leaving yacht club burgees to hang in the Marina Park office. 11-6 Marina Park Update- Marina Rentals and Revenue October 25, 2016 Page 7 Marina Park is a new and promising destination for visiting boaters. We look forward to helping each boater experience an unforgettable visit to Newport Harbor. As we extend our marketing and the client base grows we will continue to deliver top-notch service and increase revenue both in the marina and in the neighboring businesses. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. NOTICING: The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). ATTACHMENTS: None 11-7