Downtown Boat Slip Marketing Plan and Lottery UnveiledBy Carl Wagenfohr CLEARWATER -- Having focused most of its attention on construction planning and financing the $13-million downtown boat slips project, the City of Clearwater this week revealed how it hopes to fill the facility with boats. During Monday's City Council worksession, Finance Director Margie Simmons presented a marketing plan and a process for conducting a lottery to allocate the facility's 129 slips that more than 600 people have expressed interest in. The city's marketing plan will consist of promoting the marina at area boat shows, advertising and qualifying a list of individuals who have expressed interest in renting a slip. Clearwater has already promoted the marina at the August 9th National Marina Day event hosted at the Municipal Marina on Clearwater Beach. Turnout was light due to inclement weather and the event generated few prospects according to Harbormaster Bill Morris. The City plans to participate in two more events to generate interest among local boaters before the marina is opened in the summer of 2009: the Tampa Boat Show on September 5th-7th, and the Saint Petersburg Boat Show/Strictly Sail on December 4th-7th. An advertising campaign is also planned in the Gulf Mariner, a regional monthly boaters magazine, and the St Petersburg Times, a daily newspaper. In addition, promotional materials will be placed at local boat retailers. The city's marketing budget, which includes promotional materials, advertising and event participation, totals $31-thousand. But the city is pinning most of its hopes of filling the marina on the 621 individuals who have asked to be placed on the list of interested parties that has been maintained since before Clearwater's voters approved the project in March, 2007. The city will be mailing a brochure and slip rental application to the list members. Those who respond and provide a $500 reservation deposit will be entered into a blind lottery that will determine who gets a slip, and in what order they get to choose their slip. Clearwater residents will receive priority over non-residents in the lottery process. While having 621 individuals interested in only 129 slips might seem to be enough demand to fill the marina with boats, there was no financial commitment required to become a member of the list; a significant number of those may fail to respond when asked for a $500 deposit to enter the lottery. In addition, nearly 100 the names on the current list appear to be duplicates. Clearwater plans a January 30, 2009, cutoff date for lottery registration and payment of the $500 deposit. The lottery is planned as a live event at the Harborview Center on March 14, 2009. Because slip locations will be chosen at the event, attendance by the registrant or his/her representative is mandatory. The $500 deposit of slip winners will be applied to their first and last month's rent. Should there not be enough slips to satisfy demand, those not awarded slips can choose to be refunded their $500 deposit, or be refunded only $400, leaving $100 as a deposit to preserve their place on a wait list that will be maintained in the order produced by the lottery. The marina is projected to open on July 1, 2009. |