If we ever had a drought around here, it was officially over this past month.
I saw something on TV around mid month that said our rainfall was five or six inches ahead of where we usually are by the end of January and then it rained for another four days.
What’s this have to do with the Port of Kingston? It keeps the grass green and it was a great test for the new storm water management system we installed last summer. The report is that the system is working perfectly and the park expansion that it provided looks pretty good too.
Another thing about so much rain is that if you have an open boat moored in the marina and it has no automatic bilge pump, you may just want to head down and take a mid-winter look at your craft. The port staff has been pumping out more than a few boats each week.
Like the lights? Make your own
How did you like the Christmas lights? Everyone involved with the port was very proud to share that experience with the community. Kori Henry spearheaded the project and got volunteers from the community to learn the craft and help assemble all of the light sculptures. We had hoped to get about 60sculptures. In the end we had more than 200.
There has been some interest shown by others who wanted to try their hand at this art form too. Henry will be conducting a monthly workshop in the port office for anyone interested. You can contact her at (360) 297-3545.
Dock projects on tap
We have had a project going on to refurbish the guest dock. AMO Construction has been replacing broken pieces of the dock and rewiring all of the electrical connections and distribution boxes. When this job is complete, the facility will be a great and safe place for our visiting boaters to tie up and enjoy our town.
Later this winter and spring, we will be redoing a couple of other permanent moorage docks. When this happens, there may be a need to move some boats around to accommodate construction activities.
The staff will attempt to get the owners to relocate their boat to a nearby empty slip or the guest dock. If contact can’t be made, the port staff will be towing a few vessels around and securing them while the slips are worked on.
Port is popular
Speaking of visiting boaters, as you know, we have a policy that half of our marina guest space can be reserved in advance. This gives cruising groups the ability to plan trips here and be certain that there will be room for them. The policy is to only take reservations in the year that the visit takes place.
On Jan. 2, our weekend staff in the port office was on the phone constantly making reservations. By 2 p.m., we were 90 percent booked for all of the major holiday weekends in 2010. I guess people like coming to Kingston. Do you think it’s that little white car?
Port searching for foot ferry manager
On the passenger ferry front, we have been reviewing applications from people responding to our solicitation for a Passenger Ferry Manager. We received several dozen resumes from some very well qualified and experienced people. The decision will be a tough one. Hopefully we can fill you in on the results next month.
It’s a new year and a new decade. I hope everyone that has endured personal and economic hardships in recent months can see the light of new prosperity approaching.
I’d like to see 2010 become a “Perfect Ten”.
As always, thanks for reading this stuff I hope I have been able to tell you something that you otherwise might not have known.
Pete DeBoer is a Port of Kingston Commissioner. He can be reached at pete@petedeboer.com.
Editor’s Note: Pete DeBoer has announced his candidacy for the 23rd Legislative District representative position 1 seat. In the interest of fairness, he has agreed to suspend his column until after the Nov. 2 general election, beginning in March.
