The Marina mess

Vallejo Municipal Marina is one of the city's most valuable assets — not only for boat owners that have their boats berthed there, but also as an important and highly visible element that potential developers see when they evaluate Vallejo for any investment.

Economic development is the city council's highest priority goal, as determined during goal setting for this year. Or is this just a phony goal that only receives lip service? The marina's current dilapidated condition is enough to drive any potential developer to go elsewhere. The marina hasn't been properly dredged for years. This denies most boats ingress and egress to and from their berths often during some daily tidal conditions and has led to an occupancy rate of nearly 50 percent.

This buildup of siltation renders the marina essentially useless to them. Many have become “stuck in the mud,” unable to move or sell their boats. Additionally, many of the docks and other structures are in an advanced state of deterioration. The citizens of Vallejo are witnessing the degradation and devaluation of one of our greatest assets. To date, city leadership on the council, or within the city staff, have not made any commitments to address this problem.

Residents of Vallejo City Council District 4 — encompassing the marina — need to contact their council candidates, Ruscal Cayangyang, Charles Palmeros, Chris

Platzer and Ravi Shankar, and stress that you will only vote for them if they make a strong commitment to advance a resolution to this festering problem.

Other interested citizens living in other districts can also contact District 4 candidates and offer campaign support in the form of donations, endorsements and letters to the editor if they make such a commitment. Readers should also contact the mayor and city council members by email or phone to insist they elevate the priority of this issue for Public Works to resolve.

We should not remain silent on this egregious situation the city has been ignoring. It's getting worse every day. The operation of the marina is simply not sustainable without immediate action by the city. Are we to wait until the marina has to be abandoned because it no longer functions?

— Dennis Albright, Vallejo