THE HARBOR COLUMN:

Nice to see that Marina Park is in the news again and that thought is being given as to how to fund the project with a $23-million price tag.

This project needs to move forward and not die sitting on a shelf, but, unfortunately, we are in the middle of a recession. Maybe the city of Newport Beach will be able to make lemonade out of lemons by using this down turn in the economy to increase their leverage in the sluggish construction trade.

Well, for starters, I would approach the California Department of Boating and Waterways (Cal Boating) because this department awards loans and grants for building boating facilities.

Many years ago, Newport Beach used funds from Cal Boating to construct the marina at the Balboa Yacht Basin, so this would be my first stop in the financial path.

Twenty-three million might be a little on the high side of bidders with the current economy, and with construction firms begging for work. I would be curious to see a revised construction cost estimate from the architects, but that might be a big task and costly for a project of this size.

Marina Park’s conceptual plans show a marina with guest slips for visiting boaters, an aquatics center, a community center, a new Girl Scout house, basketball courts, relocated tennis courts, plus a renovated playground.

Also, the design shows a public park with bay beach with restroom facilities and dearly needed parking.

I like that all the facilities are designed with a nautical theme, and I think this park will create a landmark in the city from both the land side and from boaters.

I am 100% in favor of this project, and it cannot be built fast enough because the public is in need of water access and especially public guest dockage in our harbor. As the public’s water access is decreasing across the nation, it is great that the city is capturing this opportunity to preserve water access with a park and supporting facilities.

Tip of the week is surf to where you can see the Marina Park Schematic Design booklet, available in PDF format through tinyurl.com/cbmfou. This booklet explains the plans along with conceptual renderings of the new park.

MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating columnist. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to [email protected] or go to www.boathousetv.com.