Is MYC Becoming A Fee For Service Marina?

A recent proposal from the Board is generating another discussion of mechanisms that would have different members of the club paying different amounts for their membership and privileges. We are developing an a la carte menu of marina services where we each pay according to the services we use and the space we rent. Here is the list of current items on the menu:

• Large boat storage
• Summer trailer storage
• Small boat storage
• Clubhouse use
• Punishment fee for late payment of dues

Possible new items:

• Extra boat 1
• Extra boat 2, etc.
• Punishment for winter storage violations

This seems more characteristic of a marina where I used to moor a large boat, than the little, friendly yacht club I joined 28 years ago. Is this our vision for the club?

User fees are common in a variety of situations, but we need to ask some basic questions before proceeding down this road. First, “who imposes and quantifies the fees.” Our By-laws do not specifically address user fees, but in the discussion of membership fees, I think there is a clear implication that all fees to be paid by members are to be approved by the members. This was our practice when the large boat winter storage policy was adopted at a business meeting in 2001. For the small boat storage fee, the board imposed the fee some years ago, a vote of the membership then repealed the fee, and last November the Board imposed it again. The clubhouse use fee was imposed by the Board without a vote. Before we begin with any new fees, I believe we have to come to a common understanding about who establishes the fees. If my reading of the By-laws is correct, all fees imposed without a vote should be repealed, discussed in an orderly fashion, and voted on by the membership. Going forward, we should follow whatever procedures and requirements are in the By-laws, including following the “MYC Policy For Matters Requiring Membership Approval.”

The second question to ask is “what is the purpose of the fee?” I think it was clear with the large boat winter storage fee: a fee was established to justify allowing a few people with special circumstances to store their boats (in contradiction to historical precedent and policy) and provide a disincentive that limits the number of boats being stored. The trailer storage fee seems to be an extension of the previous reasoning. The rationale for the small boat storage fee has never been as clear. Historically, small boats were always stored over the winter with no fee.

Do we need more revenue all of the sudden? Does this and the clubhouse use fee reflect a significant need for revenue in the wake of the $7000 bathroom construction overrun? Is it a perceived “fairness” issue in charging some boats and not others? I welcome a more complete explanation of the purpose for these fees and for the new proposed extra boat enhanced membership fee. Such an explanation seems to be required in the “MYC Policy For Matters Requiring Membership Approval,” which specifies “a summary of the rationale behind the recommended measure.”

The third question to ask is “what is the effect of the fee?” The very conception of user fees is divisive. We are traveling down a road where we no longer share the benefits and responsibilities of a club, but consume bits and pieces like a tenant or a customer. People don’t rent from themselves or charge themselves a fee to use the backyard. User fees are levied where individuals are not the owners of the property or providers of a service. Should each of our members feel like a renter and not an owner? Is MYC a marina where the members are paying customers or is it a social organization where all members are equal?

If the club needs to raise revenue, one of the most divisive ways to do so is through user fees. Some of the people cover increased expenses while others do not. Each of us can find ways in which other members benefit from the club in ways that we do not, and then think “make them pay for higher costs.” This encourages us to look for these differences and justify in our own minds why the other guy deserves to pay while we don’t. The other guy then feels he is being unfairly treated. Is this a club? Is this the way we want to relate to each other? Is this the kind of organization we want to be members of? All for a few dollars a year?

User fees create disincentives to use the club, undermining its very core purpose. If the purpose of the club is to promote sailing, seamanship, and the recreational use of the lake, then why should we levy fees for doing those things? We currently have disincentives for storing your boat and using the clubhouse. The latest proposal would add disincentives for having second sailboats and paddling craft that allow us to broaden our use of the lake. Isn’t participation already dwindling? Why should we create more reasons for members to not use the club?

I really don’t understand why people think we should go down this road. This should (and used to be) a social club where members shared their mutual love for sailing. It is completely wrongheaded to view our club as renting out space. This business landlord model will make us a fee for service marina. It is one thing to be a marina over the winter where the club is inactive, but quite another to carry it over to the summer sailing season where the marina feeling begins to characterize our relationships to each other and to the organization. Once we have paid for our slip, mooring, or parking spot, we don’t owe the landlord anything. We won’t want to maintain or improve the place because that is the owner’s responsibility. Isn’t that happening already? The vision of the club as a group of sailing enthusiasts who are equals is eroding into this marina business. User fees go a long way to promote this decline.