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Generally I will send out the Commodore’s Corner early in the month. In January we had several activities ongoing that would impact the information being provided causing the delay. Beginning in November we had started discussions with the Prairie Creek staff concerning fees and rules. The discussions continued through December with little progress and soon we were into January. Our on line and paper membership forms had to be suspended since an agreement on fees had not been reached. At the same time discussions on the park rules continued with the Prairie Creek staff and Parks board. Finally on Friday January 13, 2023 we had reached a conclusion on the fee structure while the discussion on rules continued. Much of the discussion on the park rules centers around decades old city ordinances that no longer have relevance. The Parks Board has no authority to change city ordinances so portions of the rules need to be processed through the City Council and then back to the Parks board. Needless to say the process is slow. We as well as other groups and citizens have submitted suggestions for changes to the rules and those have been accumulated and will be considered in any rule modifications. On January 17, 2023 the Parks Board at the encouragement of “Friends of Prairie Creek” voted to suspend the implementation of the rules until a review of the ordinances by the City Council. We are continuing to work with the Prairie Creek staff, Parks. Board and Friends of Prairie Creek to bring the discussion on rules to a close.

 

On the bright side there are steps being taken to address our concerns about fishing line, hooks and lures in our rigging as well as lines on our decks and in our cockpits. Additionally fishing in our mooring area would be prohibited. We expect these changes to be in place by the beginning of the sailing season. As actions by the council occur we will post their progress. The next Parks Board meeting is February 21, 2023 and we will continue to have a presence at that meeting. We are also continuing our discussions with the Friends of Prairie Creek as together we are a larger voice.
 In the coming weeks we will begin some of the prep work for our spring launch. Since we are adding additional floating dock sections to A Dock we will begin staging and assembling various components that will expedite the installation of the additions and allow us to open the season without delay. We will also begin prepping club boats that require some maintenance so they are ready for use at the beginning of the season. One of the boats we will be working on is the Snipe we received last fall. The boat has some cosmetic work that needs to be done but the boat is seaworthy as it is so it should be available at the start of the season. 
We are continuing to move forward and in 90 days our discussions will be about launching! Think warm weather.