City of Powell River’s committee of the whole has referred correspondence regarding North Harbour moorage rates to staff for consideration when the North Harbour rates bylaw comes back to council for consideration.
In the correspondence, read at the October 4 committee of the whole meeting, city resident Stephen Miller stated he has a small, open-console power boat moored in the North Harbour, and that he is a senior.
“I have heard from city representatives as well as other boat owners renting moorage space in the North Harbour, that the city, in November, will be looking at raising rates for everyone by as much as a cumulative 50 per cent over three years,” stated Miller. “My concern has to do primarily with retired people and senior citizens who have rented a slip in the harbour. I believe any significant increase in moorage rates for seniors is a discriminatory tax and should not be acceptable to the city decision-makers.”
Miller stated that seniors are on a fixed income and most would not be able to afford a significant increase in moorage rates. He added that a significant increase in moorage rates will cause many seniors to not renew their slips and they would be forced to pull their boats out of the water.
Miller’s third point was that seniors are not as agile as they were when they were younger so pulling boats out of the water and putting it in using a trailer is difficult and dangerous.
“In summary, this proposed increase or discussion by the city would be discriminating against seniors because they are on fixed incomes, they are not as agile as younger people, and they would have problems always trailering and using the ramp to load and unload their boats,” stated Miller. “A significant increase will eliminate boating as an activity for many of them.”
