Letter: State trying to raise boat harbor fees excessively

March 4, 2019

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STAR-ADVERTISER / SEPT. 2016

Heeia Boat Harbor and Pier. State officials said a series of five public hearings on proposed fee hikes and new rules for Hawaii’s small boat harbors will be held around the state next month.

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I would like to make the community aware of the state’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) efforts to drive local fisherman and local people out of the state harbors (“State holding public hearings on proposed fee hikes at small boat harbors,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 21).

It wants to double, and in some cases for small boat owners, triple, the mooring fees. It is setting its new fees on “highest and best use” and “market comparison” using private yacht clubs as their comparables.

The fee hikes are to cover the cost of running all harbor operations. Let me give you just one example of a harbor project: repair to existing fenders along the north loading dock at the Heeia Kea harbor, estimated by DOBOR to cost $1 million.

The loading dock is about 60 feet long and now has old truck tires as fenders. How can you spend $1 million on repairing fenders?

Please call the governor and stop this before the state’s “highest and best use” drives us all out of Hawaii.

Susan Ramirez

Aiea

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