For the record, we are transient boaters at Bonnie Castle. We park at the dock from time to time with my daughters and take them into town to get ice cream at Al Taylors, then when we have guests up on the boat we will stop and without question, that always leads to a stop at the shops for a shirt or trinket. Charge me $5.00 to make these stops and we STOP going into town. It is that simple. We don't drive down to town, we don't walk to town, we only go over by boat. It is not worth it for $5.00. Now with that said, I would recommend a color tag system during hours the dock attendants are there. Change color tags every 4 hours. If you are there for a color change, you owe $5.00, if you are there less than 4 hours, parking would be free as it is now. Make the dock attendants earn some money by working the tags for the boats etc. Example, 8am to 12pm would be red. 12pm to 4pm would be blue and 4pm to 8pm would be yellow. Then at 8pm, overnight fees go into effect. Just a suggestion. Steve Woodward
I listened to the hearing. Somebody said the revenue from the docks was down last year. Any idea if the traffic was down or did the donations become the attendents tips? The village needs something for accountibility and to keep everyone honest.
I think Mr. Woodward has a great idea. Yes, it does mean the dock attendants would have to pay attention. I think charging for people to dock would hurt the downtown businesses and they don't need that. It's hard enough to park a car, or to find a place to put a boat in and then park a truck and boat trailer without having to walk 10 miles to get to it. Something really needs to be done to make the docks more accommodating to people and make the Bay more welcoming for our tourists. For our business we are offering free pick up and delivery to the dock for people who want to get their dogs groomed, boarded, and for daycare. I would hate to have to see them have to pay $5 to wait for us to get to them or even to get to their car to bring their dogs out here.
Let's practice good customer service skills and be nice to our visitors.
How much did it cost to pave and re-curb Bolton Avenue a few years ago? Did anybody bat an eyelash about the cost then? Has anybody paid a penny to park or drive on that street? That dock is just as important to a river town as any street in the village and you don't even have to plow it in the winter.
I was at the dock this weekend for the ribbon cutting. The dock attendants did an outstanding job. They paid attention, they were cheerful and helpful. I have seen years past where texting or chatting on cell phones was the major priority. Not this year so far, lets hope it keeps up. I also dropped $16.59 at Lil River Fudge too!!!!! Had to start the year out right...LOL. I told you with 2 kids that is our purchase. Nice dock, nice ceremony. Hopefully it will get more traffic. Steve Woodward
Just another example of tourists, businesses and summer residents feel WE. Locals should play for their play. Dont bring your boat I dont care. But I dont so why should I pay in taxes for your fun? People who use it should pay for the docks not the people who live here.
And local businesses are NOT local if they only open for a couple of months to make money for themselves. the tax money goes to the county and then does not come back well not most of it. So why should residents pay for a feature that only tourists and businesses get the benefit from? Not fair.
The dock planning for parking and activity seriously needs to be addressed in a well thought out plan.
Why are they hiring kids to supervise the docks. Some boaters don't take them seriously and on more than one occasion they have had to call for back up with unruly, drunken boaters. I have personally witnessed several occasions in past years where the docks attendants were threatened. The dock attendants can't even legally remove alcohol left behind on the dock nor should they. The village has a liability issue to think about where these kids are concerned.
Drinking alcohol at the dock should be banned as well. People openly consume alcohol at the docks and then people get upset when the river police authorities hover around the bay. Some families who have visited in the past have complained that they do not want to be subjected to some of the behavior related to the drinking on the boats. This is also taking away from the local taverns who have the appropriate licensing and security to deal with alcohol consumption. The dock attendants should not have to be bouncers. If people say that drinking at the docks isn't an issue, they should think back a few years to when the rented houseboat from Canada was left trashed at the dock for several days. The kids on that boat were underage and they busted every window out of it right at the dock. They abandoned it at our dock. If there had been an alcohol ban in place they would have gone elsewhere and not left such a disgraceful sight at our dock. The behavior of some of the drinkers is deplorable and I have seen times when people should have been arrested for indecent exposure.
10 comments:
abay should be use to this. Moore always makes less!
50% of the business says Paul Coleman... umm.. sure OK Paul..
For the record, we are transient boaters at Bonnie Castle. We park at the dock from time to time with my daughters and take them into town to get ice cream at Al Taylors, then when we have guests up on the boat we will stop and without question, that always leads to a stop at the shops for a shirt or trinket. Charge me $5.00 to make these stops and we STOP going into town. It is that simple. We don't drive down to town, we don't walk to town, we only go over by boat. It is not worth it for $5.00. Now with that said, I would recommend a color tag system during hours the dock attendants are there. Change color tags every 4 hours. If you are there for a color change, you owe $5.00, if you are there less than 4 hours, parking would be free as it is now. Make the dock attendants earn some money by working the tags for the boats etc. Example, 8am to 12pm would be red. 12pm to 4pm would be blue and 4pm to 8pm would be yellow. Then at 8pm, overnight fees go into effect. Just a suggestion.
Steve Woodward
I listened to the hearing. Somebody said the revenue from the docks was down last year. Any idea if the traffic was down or did the donations become the attendents tips? The village needs something for accountibility and to keep everyone honest.
J Brown
I think Mr. Woodward has a great idea. Yes, it does mean the dock attendants would have to pay attention. I think charging for people to dock would hurt the downtown businesses and they don't need that. It's hard enough to park a car, or to find a place to put a boat in and then park a truck and boat trailer without having to walk 10 miles to get to it. Something really needs to be done to make the docks more accommodating to people and make the Bay more welcoming for our tourists. For our business we are offering free pick up and delivery to the dock for people who want to get their dogs groomed, boarded, and for daycare. I would hate to have to see them have to pay $5 to wait for us to get to them or even to get to their car to bring their dogs out here.
Let's practice good customer service skills and be nice to our visitors.
Jean Side
How much did it cost to pave and re-curb Bolton Avenue a few years ago? Did anybody bat an eyelash about the cost then? Has anybody paid a penny to park or drive on that street?
That dock is just as important to a river town as any street in the village and you don't even have to plow it in the winter.
I would say that most of our streets could use a good overhaul. That pot hole on Church Street could claim a life!
I was at the dock this weekend for the ribbon cutting. The dock attendants did an outstanding job. They paid attention, they were cheerful and helpful. I have seen years past where texting or chatting on cell phones was the major priority. Not this year so far, lets hope it keeps up. I also dropped $16.59 at Lil River Fudge too!!!!! Had to start the year out right...LOL. I told you with 2 kids that is our purchase. Nice dock, nice ceremony. Hopefully it will get more traffic.
Steve Woodward
Just another example of tourists, businesses and summer residents feel WE. Locals should play for their play. Dont bring your boat I dont care. But I dont so why should I pay in taxes for your fun? People who use it should pay for the docks not the people who live here.
And local businesses are NOT local if they only open for a couple of months to make money for themselves. the tax money goes to the county and then does not come back well not most of it. So why should residents pay for a feature that only tourists and businesses get the benefit from? Not fair.
The dock planning for parking and activity seriously needs to be addressed in a well thought out plan.
Why are they hiring kids to supervise the docks. Some boaters don't take them seriously and on more than one occasion they have had to call for back up with unruly, drunken boaters. I have personally witnessed several occasions in past years where the docks attendants were threatened. The dock attendants can't even legally remove alcohol left behind on the dock nor should they. The village has a liability issue to think about where these kids are concerned.
Drinking alcohol at the dock should be banned as well. People openly consume alcohol at the docks and then people get upset when the river police authorities hover around the bay. Some families who have visited in the past have complained that they do not want to be subjected to some of the behavior related to the drinking on the boats. This is also taking away from the local taverns who have the appropriate licensing and security to deal with alcohol consumption. The dock attendants should not have to be bouncers. If people say that drinking at the docks isn't an issue, they should think back a few years to when the rented houseboat from Canada was left trashed at the dock for several days. The kids on that boat were underage and they busted every window out of it right at the dock. They abandoned it at our dock. If there had been an alcohol ban in place they would have gone elsewhere and not left such a disgraceful sight at our dock. The behavior of some of the drinkers is deplorable and I have seen times when people should have been arrested for indecent exposure.
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