Boat dock lease inked

CROMWELL >> Cromwell Outboard Association Commodore Allan Waters signed the group’s lease extension with the town on Friday.

The agreement came nearly seven weeks after the COA won an overwhelming victory in a town-wide referendum that approved a five-year extension to the club’s lease.

Having won a 914-425 victory in which he said “good people prevailed,” Waters and the club then spent weeks parrying with the town over the amount that would be paid for the lease extension. Waters said the club should pay $500, while the

town said the correct figure was $3,000. That led to prolonged back-and-forth between the two sides until the COA finally agreed to the $3,000 figure.

Waters did not respond to email requests for a comment on the signing.

The COA, which is a private club with approximately 154 Cromwell members, has leased riverfront space at 2 River Road from the town since 1959.

The club’s most recent lease expired on June 30. However, Waters and the club pushed for an extension to allow them to complete repairs to the dock system that was damaged by heavy ice in 2014.

Waters asked for a fiveyear extension. But the town would only agree to a six-month extension, which expires Saturday.

In the meantime, the Town Council established a subcommittee to explore other options for the property. Mayor Enzo Faienza has repeatedly said those options could include some arrangement with the club.

Waters, who said his “whole life” was tied up in the club, chose another path, however. Prior to the subcommittee completing its review, in late September, Waters submitted a petition calling for a town meeting to approve a fiveyear extension.

Town councilors, however, said for an issue of this magnitude, the only fair way to resolve the matter was to send it to referendum.

The prolonged post-referendum squabbling over the price to be paid for the lease extension raised the temperature on both sides of the issue. It also led some to question whether Waters, who is a town councilor, was putting the club’s interests ahead of the town’s.

The club paid the town $500 a year under the previous 2011 to 2016 contract. But the price for the lease extension was $1,500 for six months — $3,000 for a year.

On Friday, the extension was signed and a COA check for $3,000 was presented to Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore.

The money will be deposited in the town’s general fund, the manager said. “I am glad we could resolve this and now we can all move on,” Salvatore said on Friday, following the signing.

“I’m glad Mr. Waters and the COA could come to us and sign the lease extension,” Faienza said Tuesday.

“This was in the best interests of the town and of the boat club,” Faienza said. “Now we can all move on — and, happy boating.”