The Alexandria City Council appropriated $575,000 of the estimated $2.15 million needed to dredge the city’s marina, which has become so filled with silt that yachts and tall ships popular with tourists and residents can’t enter.
Funding for an estimated $1 million of that, needed to dredge the area where the largest ships dock, has not yet been identified. That dredging is important because tall ships bring tourists and residents to the city’s waterfront and Old Town businesses, according to staff memos.
Six tall ships and three yachts were refused entry in 2006 and 2007 because the silted marina was too shallow for them, according to a memo drafted by Laura Seidler, a recreation supervisor with the city’s department of parks, recreation and cultural activities.
The council has approved $575,000 to begin work and authorized staff to request bids to dredge all of the marina. Once bids are received, staff will suggest a source of funding to dredge the area where the tall ships dock, according to the budget memo presented to the council Tuesday.
The silting of the marina happens regularly with storms and the Potomac’s tides, requiring dredging about every five years, but the April opening of the National Harbor has increased the urgency this year. The city’s new Prince George’s County competitor will boast a convention center, restaurants and hotels.
Alexandria officials are counting on tourism to help offset declining tax revenues from lower real estate assessments. Tourism brought in $603 million during fiscal 2006, according to the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association.
One of the ships that wasn’t able to enter the marina, the Colombian Navy’s Gloria, nearly doubled foot traffic at the city marina and nearby park when it anchored in the Potomac in July, according to recreation department statistics.
If dredging isn’t completed within the next two years, another five ships that have visited the marina in the past won’t be able to enter, according to Seidler’s memo.
The estimate to dredge the marina is more than twice the budgeted $900,000. The cost increased because more of the marina needs work, said Craig Perl, a civil engineer with the city’s transportation and environmental services department.
