SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve a second amendment and second extension to the Water Taxi Services Contract with Clearwater Ferry Services, Inc. for the term of 10 years, commencing October 1, 2023, and providing $500,000.00 in subsidies to Clearwater Ferry Services Inc. over a five-year period and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. (consent)
Body
SUMMARY:
From reducing traffic on Memorial Causeway and addressing parking shortages on the beach, to providing tourists with other avenues for entertainment, the City has always had an interest in connecting downtown and Clearwater Beach with alternative forms of transportation.
RFP #35-16 was released on May 10, 2016, to evaluate the potential for a scheduled water taxi service in Clearwater providing waterborne transportation between Downtown Clearwater, Clearwater Beach Marina, and the Clearwater Beach Recreation Center. Since November of 2016, Clearwater Ferry Services Inc. has been the sole provider of this service for the city with the routes changing periodically during this time. With the understanding that the opening of Coachman Park has tremendous potential to activate downtown and establish a tourist destination for our visitors, Clearwater Ferry Services Inc. approached the City to discuss interest in subsidizing very specific routes and predictable schedules from existing ferry landings at the harbor and beach marinas. Although the requested subsidy is designed to support these very specific routes, Clearwater Ferry Service Inc. has also included a non-subsidized Dunedin stop as an added benefit designed to draw visitors to Clearwater Beach and Coachman Park/Downtown. The requested subsidy, in the amount of $500,000, is designed to help cover the operating costs required to service the Clearwater routes and regular schedules (Friday-Sunday from 10 AM - 9:30PM). The City will require Clearwater Ferry Services Inc. to provide a minimum of two vessels for the routes and incorporate a penalty in the event a vessel is out of service for an extended period. The subsidy payments will be made to Clearwater Ferry Services Inc. annually and are reduced with the expectation of self-sufficiency within the first five years of this ten-year agreement. The payments are as follows: October 2023 - $150,000, October 2024 - $150,000, October 2025 - $66,667, October 2026 - $66,667, October 2027 - $66,666. Marine and Aviation will be responsible for maintaining the ferry landings but will be reimbursed $15,000 annually from the General Fund to offset the revenue lost due to the conversion of rental boat slips to ferry landing slips.
The amendment is designed to allow Clearwater Ferry Services Inc. to continue providing water taxi service for the City of Clearwater. The amended routes and schedules were specifically designed to facilitate the activation of downtown and Coachman Park by connecting the City’s Downtown Harbor Marina and Clearwater Beach Marina by an alternative means of transportation.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
Funding for the first year of the agreement, if approved, will be included in the proposed fiscal year 2023/24 operating budget. This represents a General Fund increase of $150,000 for payment to agencies and $15,000 in interfund transfers to the Marine Fund in the Non-Departmental cost center. Future year proposed budgets will include funding as approved in this agreement.