Harbor Patrol comes to vote

After months of exploring other alternatives to the sheriff’s department overseeing of Newport Harbor’s moorings, an item on Tuesday’s Newport Beach City Council agenda shows that the city can’t find a better bang for its buck.

At next week’s meeting, Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller will recommend that the city sign a five-year, $1.17-million contract with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol to act as administrator of the city’s 1,200 or so moorings.

“I’m happy they’ve changed the recommendation to stick with the sheriff’s department. I think we offer superior service,” said Harbor Master Lt. Mark Long. “We believe that law enforcement and mooring administration go hand in hand.”

The city appeared to be going with a private competitor, Bellport Group, earlier this year. But outcry from the harbor community brought those negotiations to a screeching halt.

Bellport offered a five-year cost of $900,000, but that was for minimal service and only limited hours, both of which locals did not want to see happen.

The company said that if it offered the same level as service as the Harbor Patrol, it would be slightly more expensive than the Harbor Patrol’s.

Newport Beach decided in October to see who else could oversee the moorings, which consists of renting them, checking on them, assisting damaged or stranded boats, and more.

After more than 25 years of providing that service for $115,000 annually, when the contract between Newport Beach and the Sheriff’s Department expired, Harbor Patrol informed the city that its price would more than double to $290,000 for continuing the service under a new contract.

The huge increase came after a study within the department found that the sheriff’s department hadn’t adjusted their price tag with increased staffing costs, among other items, since at least 1989, officials said.

After a bidding process, Newport Beach at first chose Bellport to take over mooring administration on a 9-to-5 basis.

But business owners argued that mooring administration is a 24-hour job because sailors go in and out of moorings at all times of day and night, and security would be compromised.

The sheriff’s department and the city came to an agreement to lessen the sticker shock from the price increase. Under the proposed contract, the Harbor Patrol will gradually increase its price annually until it reaches $290,000 in its fifth year.

“In regard to personal enterprise, I think this is the wrong place to move in that direction,” said local sailor Carter Ford. “This is essentially and logically, a governmentally provided service and that’s how it should continue to be handled.”