On Friday March 9th, 2018, the letter below was sent to all Commissioners, addressed individually to each. Several Commissioners had responded previously that they wished to see the information we had prepared. Our presentation of March 2 to VPB staff was included in the letter.
As of Friday March 16th, NO RESPONSES have been received.
Dear Commissioner,
After 3 months of delays in response to our FOIA requests, the Burrard Civic Marina Community Association has now established that your decision to accept staff’s recommendation to increase rates at Burrard Civic Marina by 8% and 30% over 4 years was based on incorrect information presented at the Special Meeting of The Board on November 14th, 2017.
Our research proves that the staff research into so-called “comparable marinas” was flawed on many levels. For example, mega-yacht, commercial, and relatively new marinas are definitely not “comparable” yet they were all thrown into the mix. In fact, when compared with truly "comparable marinas", Burrard’s rates are already above the average, although there is no other marina where many boats and docks are stranded on the sea bed at low tide, so direct comparison is really impossible.
Commissioner, I would like to personally present our research to you and trust that The Board will welcome this opportunity to engage with the marina community to reconsider our fees in accordance with the services the marina provides, and a fair, unbiased evaluation. This is urgent as the 8% increase is due to come into effect on April 1st.
Thank-you in advance for your assistance.
Yours Truly,
JC d'Almeida
Director BCMCA
(presentation PDF attached)
As of Friday March 16th, NO RESPONSES have been received.
Dear Commissioner,
After 3 months of delays in response to our FOIA requests, the Burrard Civic Marina Community Association has now established that your decision to accept staff’s recommendation to increase rates at Burrard Civic Marina by 8% and 30% over 4 years was based on incorrect information presented at the Special Meeting of The Board on November 14th, 2017.
Our research proves that the staff research into so-called “comparable marinas” was flawed on many levels. For example, mega-yacht, commercial, and relatively new marinas are definitely not “comparable” yet they were all thrown into the mix. In fact, when compared with truly "comparable marinas", Burrard’s rates are already above the average, although there is no other marina where many boats and docks are stranded on the sea bed at low tide, so direct comparison is really impossible.
Commissioner, I would like to personally present our research to you and trust that The Board will welcome this opportunity to engage with the marina community to reconsider our fees in accordance with the services the marina provides, and a fair, unbiased evaluation. This is urgent as the 8% increase is due to come into effect on April 1st.
Thank-you in advance for your assistance.
Yours Truly,
JC d'Almeida
Director BCMCA
(presentation PDF attached)