New Transient dockage is officially a money pit.

[Willy]

I was taking some photos around town on 7-3-11 and I was suprised to see an almost completely vacant transient dock that was installed at a huge cost to the taxpayers. The only boats using the facility was the police boat [how often is that used] and a sailboat used for sailing lessons. I would  say that the money provided by taxpayers or China was not well spent. Seeing as how this is the busiest week of the year one would assume that this dockage that was dreamed up by local politicians and built with taxpayers hard earned cash has proven to be less than successful. Another huge waste of my money thanks to our local, State and Federal Governments. Where/when does it end.

 

[AQUAMAN]

The way I understood the rates for dockage there to be by our Michigan Waterways Commission was a flat fee for any type/size of pleasure boat transiting the area. Could be a rowboat, or a multi-million dollar yacht. The fee was to be $16/nite with $4 going to the City of Ludville, and the $12 remaining going back to the State of Mich., if you stay overnight. If you only transit the dock, say for 1-8 hours while uptown, the dockage is gratis/free. I calculated way back before built that if it was full of boats the whole season and all the boats paid the overnight dockage fee, the gross, not net payback for Ludville, would be about 53 years. That would not have included any maintenance, electric, water, nor other labor associated costs for the system to operate. In the private sector this whole business venture for ROI, return on investment, would have had about as much success for validating the costs, as pigs that fly for an investment of capital. As you can see, the State and City know better, or do they?

[Sweater Cows!]

Hey, now its a good place to turn on a faucet and get a dog  a drink of water while downtown. LOL

[XLFD]

Back in the Ludington Talks era of April 2009, King Neptune questioned the business acumen of the proposed transient docks Neptune-damus.  As of yet there has still been no adequate explanation of why this near million dollar boondoggle was forced on the citizenry of the state and the city and their tax dollars.  I've FOIA'ed the City to get the amount the novelty transient docks made last year, and FOIA'ed the amount of extra energy costs we now have from the ten new light poles along that stretch that come on year round. 

Both have been generously withheld to me due to some outrageous costs that Shay can't even explain.  What we do know, is that this ridiculous addition to the marina was the Mayor's brainchild, and that public safety along the docks was never a part of the plan.  Safety Last at the Docks