Century-old marina may be acquired by city

10/16/2002

A landmark marina business near Point Place may soon have to make way for expansion of the Bay View wastewater treatment plant.

The Ford administration yesterday asked city council for $244,000 for the legal work to acquire property, likely to include the Harrison Marina off Summit Street. The money would pay for real estate services and does not include the price of the land.

The land acquisition and construction are the start of a $400 million, 15-year overhaul of the way Toledo treats sewage and storm runoff. The work is mandated by the settlement of a lawsuit filed in 1991 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The settlement is in a public comment period before it can be approved by U.S. District Court Judge James Carr.

The ordinance would allow the administration to hire Mannik & Smith Group, Inc., to handle the acquisition of the marina, a former fast-food restaurant, and several residential properties. Together, they make up about 20 acres.

The ordinance was referred to council's infrastructure committee.

The city's Department of Public Utilities plans to build an equalization basin of up to 60 million gallons to hold storm water that overwhelms the sanitary sewer system during heavy rains.

Bob Williams, assistant chief operating officer in the Ford administration, said acquisition of the marina is not yet definite. He said it could be avoided if a smaller basin would be acceptable under the EPA settlement.

Jeanette Morel, a city real estate specialist, said Mannik & Smith submitted the lower of two bids in response to a city request for proposals. The other bidder, R.D. Zande and Associates, bid $525,000. Ms. Morel said the process of acquiring the property could take up to a year.

City officials said their goal is to buy the marina outright, rather than try to relocate the marina.

Robert Woods, marina owner, said he hasn't been contacted recently.

“Ideally, I'd like to be relocated, but I'm not really in the driver's seat,” he said.

The 100-year-old marina was once the site of a boat-building business. The marina has 320 boat slips.