Harbor Commission

HARBOR COMMISSION MINUTES MEETING OF JANUARY 17, 2017 A regular meeting of the Manistee Harbor Commission was held on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 1 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room, City Hall, 70 Maple Street, Manistee MI 49660. The meeting was called to order by the Chair. Roll Call Present Excused Absence Unexcused Absence Commissioner Dave Bachman  Commissioner Fritz Boehm  Commissioner Ty Cook  Commissioner Jim Smith  Commissioner Alex Zaccanelli  Commissioner Glenn Zaring  Commissioner Roger Zielinski  City Manager Thad Taylor  OTHERS PRESENT: Marketing Vendor Maralee Cook, DDA Director Tyler Leppanen APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Roger Zielinski, second by Glenn Zaring, to approve the agenda as presented. Voice vote - Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS  None ELECTION OF OFFICERS As required in the bylaws, the election of officers shall occur at the first meeting of each calendar year and officers shall take office upon selection and shall hold office for a term of one year. For the position of Chair: Ty Cook nominated Alex Zaccanelli There being no further nominations, all voted in favor of Alex Zaccanelli as Chair. For the position of Vice-Chair: Alex Zaccanelli nominated Ty Cook There being no further nominations, all voted in favor of Ty Cook as Vice-Chair. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION by Roger Zielinski, second by Glenn Zaring, to approve the minutes for the October 18, 2016 meeting as presented. Voice vote - Motion carried. Harbor Commission Minutes – January 17, 2017 Page 1 STAFF REPORTS Harbormaster. No report – marina closed for the season. City Manager. Copies of the 2016 Highlights booklet were distributed. Invited Harbor Commissioners to come to the Vogue on Friday, January 20 at 10:30 a.m. as the City of Manistee will be awarded the Redevelopment Ready Community certification. The City joins nine other Michigan communities that have achieved this status. According to the MEDC, “certification status provides a compelling sign that a community has removed development barriers and streamlined processes to be more competitive and attractive to investors.” General discussion on the program. Discussed options to fill the Harbormaster position upon Dave Bachman’s retirement. City Manager is exploring options, an interim position is possible. This position is a non-paid position; Harbormaster duties are added to an existing position. Marketing Vendor. Maralee Cook began administering the Marina’s Facebook page in December under a vendor agreement and provided a written report on how they will be moving forward to market the marina and the community. Bachman provided last year’s survey cards to her which included many positive comments. These comments will be shared on Facebook. Frank Post will continue as a Facebook page administrator also and will continue his posts as well. Discussed current budget and fiscal year. Discussed partnering with the DDA and local businesses to promote area events and other marketing opportunities through Facebook. UNFINISHED BUSINESS  None NEW BUSINESS  Annual review of Bylaws. MOTION by Roger Zielinski, second by Jim Smith to accept the bylaws as presented; no changes are required. All voted in favor – motion carried.  Annual review of Strategic Plan. MOTION by Jim Smith, second by Roger Zielinski to continue with the current plan. All voted in favor – motion carried.  Annual review of member roster. MOTION by Jim Smith, second by Glenn Zaring to approve the roster as presented. All voted in favor – motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS  Tyler Leppanen – Lots of opportunities to partner with the DDA. Roger Zielinski suggested that Harbor Commission think of ideas to partner on. This will be added to the next agenda for discussion. OTHER COMMENTS  Glenn Zaring – Has been a good year, Harbor Commission made great strides. Would like to Harbor Commission Minutes – January 17, 2017 Page 2  see the new Harbormaster onboard as soon as possible.  General discussion on Harbormaster position. Laura will be onboard again this year as the marina manager; the Harbormaster position provides general oversight to the marina.  Roger Zielinski and Jim Smith – Attended Fisheries Trust meeting last weekend and provided copies of handouts. Manistee harbor did well last year compared to others. Did not preach as much doom and gloom; plantings have decreased to offset the declining food source, but they are seeing an increase in natural/wild fish being caught. Manistee harbor received the highest rate of satisfaction in their user survey.  Ty Cook – The area needs a marketing group to promote the area, collaboration between several entities.  Glenn Zaring – Harbor Commission should be looking at seasonal news releases. City Manager requested that news releases be run through his office.  Maralee Cook – Suggests that a news release be prepared when the marina opens for the season.  Tyler Leppanen – Kathryn Kenny at the CVB says Manistee is #1 for fishing.  Jim Smith – Economic opportunities: area restaurants and businesses should provide menus, information and perhaps coupons or discounts to the marina for visitors. ADJOURNMENT Next meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room, City Hall. MOTION to adjourn by Roger Zielinski, second by Ty Cook at 1:55 p.m. Cynthia Lokovich, CAP-OM Recording Secretary Harbor Commission Minutes – January 17, 2017 Page 3