Don Sorric opens the door to a workshop at the larger of his two leased holdings at the Wrangell Marine Services Center. Sorric worries a proposed ordinance could adversely affect his plans to pass on his business, built over the last six years, to a business partner.
already holds another lease, which would prevent the sale.
Sorric's present holdings account for 50.3 percent of the total square footage (34,682 square feet) available for lease at the Center, Meissner said. His business accounts for more than a million dollars in revenue per year, most of which Sorric says he has re-invested.
"When I make $100 in that yard, I put $100 back into my business," he told commissioners Thursday. "I'm in business with you guys. Like it or not, we're all in
business together. This took my business plan and changed it all again. Business plans don't change
easily. It's like somebody hitting you in the gut when it comes about, when all these changes come about by somebody else regulating your business."
As it stands, the ordinance could force him to break up his current holdings, potentially affecting the sale value and jeopardizing his investment, even if his business partner decides not to purchase in the end, Sorric said.
Sorric's situation may be unique among the
contractors who rely on the Center for income. Six lessees currently operate in the yard.
At least one additional contractor, Dave Miller, told officials he appreciated the ordinance's ability to
prevent one lessee being able to shut down the yard single-handedly. His business is portable and can
easily travel in and out of the yard as needed, Miller said.
"If you got somebody that's controlling two thirds of that yard, and something tragic
happens to that person or to their business, and something shuts that down, then you've got two thirds of your yard shut down," Miller said.
"The grandfather thing, I think that's definitely the way to go," he added. "You can't take something away from somebody that's had it, or already got it."
At the same time, service diversification will make the Wrangell boatyard more
competitive regionally, Miller said.
"The more services we
provide in there, the more attractive we are to everybody everywhere," he said. "Diversification is one of the big things in there. We should have a little bit of everything in there."
Officials anticipate the lift will arrive – after several revisions to original dates – in late March or early April. The Center doesn't have a building big enough to fit the new, larger lift, Sorric said.
The ordinance revision comes as Sorric plans to add a metal prefabrication shop to his current properties on a second lease located near the southeast end of the yard.
Officials may soon face tough choices about which businesses to allow into the yard, in part because a large share of the Center's property is taken up by boat storage, a cannery facility, and a cold storage, Meissner said. An existing lease property will become available later this year after a building currently located there is removed, officials said.
"It is a tough call, because here we are watching people trying to build and get bigger and better, so you don't want to restrict business growth, but on the other hand we do have a finite chunk of area down there," he said. "That's never gonna change. All that is gonna remain. On one hand, you hate to try to step on somebody when they're trying to grow. It's hard to say no because you want to see even more and more and more. But the question does become is just more of
something what we really need? Is that what's best for the yard?"
Officials have planned a legal review of the ordinance prior to a second reading.
In other business, the
commission approved 3-0 the first reading of a new fee
schedule. Officials are revising the schedule in anticipation of the new boat lift's arrival.
The schedule will also need to be approved by a second reading before the harbor
commission, as well as first and second readings before the
borough assembly. Rates for smaller boats remain unchanged, though a $500
minimum fee will apply for the new lift, as opposed to a $300 minimum fee for the smaller lift.
The proposed fee schedule is as follows:
Zero to forty-foot boats would cost $11 per foot. 41- to 58-foot boats would cost $12 per foot. 59- to 75-foot boats would cost $13 per foot. 76- to 90-foot boats would cost $15 per foot. 91- to 120-foot boats would cost $17 per foot. 121- to 140-foot boats would cost $19 per foot. Boats longer than 141 feet would cost $21 per foot.
The harbor's existing fee schedule has a flat rate for any boat above 59 feet.
The commission also voted 3-0 to approve a lot extension to Tyler Thompson. The
parameters of his lot had changed prior to this summer's resurfacing. Thursday's vote brings the lot back to its original area.
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