Brett’s Waterway Cafe will close this year, as the business’s lease of the building, which is owned by the city of Fernandina Beach, will expire. The city commission has not yet determined the future of the property. Photo by Julia Roberts\/Nassau NewsLine<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe WAB was formed earlier this year, consolidating the Marina Advisory Board and the Community Redevelopment Area Advisory Board. The board addresses issues and makes recommendations specific to the downtown waterfront area. The board consists of seven voting and one alternate member, including two members who are permanent slip holders at the marina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At its last meeting, the WAB discussed two issues recently considered by the city commission: the continuation of a contract with Oasis Marinas to manage the city-owned marina, and plans for the location of Brett’s Waterway Cafe, a city-owned property that was leased out to a company that operated a restaurant at the marina. The lease expires later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The WAB discussed both matters last month, and made recommendations to the city commission. One recommendation was to allow the contract with Oasis to expire and have the city manage the marina. The other recommendation was how the city would develop the Brett’s property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are all on here (the WAB) because we have some form of expertise or knowledge, which was required for us to have a spot on the board,\u201d board member Michael Sharpe said. \u201cThe two things that we asked them, based on all that knowledge, they rejected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Engineering firm Passero and Associates presented the city with plans for the Brett’s property with five options. Those options included a plan for a floating extension to dock A in the northern marina basin and plans for a timber pier extension to dock A. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At its June meeting, the WAB discussed the options, and recommended the timber pier extension. The city commission said they preferred the option of a floating extension to the dock. At its July 28 meeting, the WAB expressed concern about that decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharpe said the city commission based their decision to go with a floating dock extension on the desire to get the Brett’s project completed as soon as possible, as the marina will be partially closed during demolition and construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat dock can be back in operation before that platform is completed,\u201d Sharpe said. \u201cThose gangways can still be in operation. That should not affect how long the marina is down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the city commission also said a platform could be added later, which he said was a bad idea, calling it \u201cinfinitely more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou are not going to get a crane down Centre Street to do that, you\u2019re going to have to get a barge back in,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce all that is in place, to go back in there and try to put pilings back in there to try to support that dock just doesn\u2019t make any sense at all. It\u2019s penny wise and dollar foolish to even think that is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the commission has not officially voted to go with the option of the floating dock, and so the WAB could appeal to them about that decision, as \u201cthe idea that we are going to have the yellow brick road of Centre Street dead end into a seawall and a gangway down to a boat ramp is just not a good look for Fernandina Beach. That is the focal point and the very end of Centre Street and it should have something on it, not just a dead end street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
City staff at the meeting said they would pass along the wishes of the WAB to the city commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The WAB also discussed the contract with Oasis Marinas, which the city commission voted to extend for another year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharpe said he has concerns about Oasis\u2019 expenditures on advertising. He spoke of a magazine produced and distributed by Oasis. The magazine is Marine Life, and Fernandina Harbor Marina subscribes to it, at a cost of $2,700 per year. Issues come out twice a year. The Fernandina Harbor Marina is advertised in the magazine, along with other marinas managed by Oasis. Oasis distributes the magazines to boaters who rent a slip at the marina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think (Oasis is) a waste of our money,\u201d Sharpe said. \u201cThe least they could do is to \u2026 look at the Oasis contract, look at those expenses that are getting passed right through to us. Probably the most glaring one is advertising. We are paying for Oasis marina magazines to go boats that are already here, to go to other Oasis marinas. I don\u2019t want to spend our money to advertise other Oasis marinas,\u201d which he said was \u201cpaying to advertise in a magazine to boats that are already here to go to other Oasis marinas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey (the city commission) asked us how they could save money, and we told them to do away with Oasis,\u201d WAB member Allen Mills said. \u201cNow they are going to keep them. They continue to not listen to the board, why are we up here? Why are we wasting our time when we aren\u2019t getting paid a thing for it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fernandina Beach Downtown Director Lisa Finkelstein said city staff has been directed to \u201clook into what the plan would be to assume management of the marina and to create a budget for it.\u201d She said staff would keep the WAB apprised of that process as those discussions move forward. She said the board can request the commission have staff look at the Oasis contract in order to identify expenditures that could be removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think we need to keep talking about it and not honor the decision they made,\u201d WAB member David Cook said. \u201cKeep the fire hot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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