[Gilligan]

Originally Posted by GWC...

If everyone has the same "common" facilities available for their benefit, then is it only fair that all pay an equal amount for said access to "common" facilities?

Equal access to common facilities does not justify the flat rate club fee in this circumstance. Recognize that it is not logical but is probably unchangeable. MVYC is a club but the slips are treated as condominium slips. Each slip has an owner who pays a town tax bill based on the value of the slip. Each owner (member) has a MVYC club fee which is the same for all slip owners. It isn’t an equitable or fair system. Here’s why.

What constitutes COMMON facilities? They include the buildings and grounds, roads, bath houses, beaches, playgrounds, parking areas (but not all the parking areas), water, electricity, the bulkheads and retaining walls.

There are 20 slips on "A" dock. Each has a bulkhead area behind the boat of at least 18 to 20 feet. Contrast that with the 26 slips on "I" dock each with 9 or, if you are lucky, 10 feet of bulkhead behind the slip. That’s HALF the common area. No parity with common facilities (bulkhead) usage in this instance.

The expensive slips at "A" dock can accommodate boats up to 44 feet long and 15 feet wide. On the other extreme is "I" dock which can handle boats up to 24 feet long and 8 feet wide. Almost half the boat size. The "A" dock slips have piers (common facilities) that go beside the boat so you can get on and off easily. The "I" dock has NO piers. You get on and off at the back of your boat. Beside your boat on "I" dock is another boat, no pier. "I" dock slip owners seem to pay the lowest rates in town taxes while "A" dock owners pay the highest taxes.

Which boaters do you expect to use more of the common facilities? Those with the big cabin cruisers that live onboard much of the season on "A" dock or those with day boats or cuddys on "I" dock? Should each slip owner pay the same fee for use of the common facilities like electricity and water? Would it be more fair to have a fee structure more in line with the price of the slip or the size of the boat it will accommodate? I think so.

While not a big fan of the tax man he does have it right by taxing the bigger, more expensive slips more than the smaller slips. The MVYC has a one fee fits all philosophy for the slip owners. That is where I see inequity. Do the 20 foot open bow rider owners use as much of the common facilities as the owners of the 40 foot luxury cabin cruisers? It does not take a professor to figure that one out. The big boats probably have one or more TVs, VCRs DVDs (pay extra for a cable hook-up but the electricity is COMMON), electric ranges, microwave ovens, water heaters, heaters, air conditioning, hair dryers, blenders, and a host of other items. They generally have more guests more frequently. The 40 footers potentially are used much more often and as live-aboard boats than would be the smaller boats in the smaller slips. By their nature the big slips/boats use more of the common facilities.

The entire club pays for milfoil reduction treatments. It’s good for the club but do owners on "I" dock or "J" dock see any difference in their dock areas? Nope. They do not treat those areas because "I" and "J" docks are not in the MVYC channel. "I" and "J" slip owners rejoice at the thought of less milfoil around the club but they don’t get that “common” benefit at their slips. How about dredging? Same thing I’m told. Equal access to common club facilities? It just doesn’t fit anywhere here.

I am generalizing and using the extremes of "A" versus "I" dock. I understand that all members need to support the club with fees and an occasional assessment. The point is that the smaller slip owners pay a larger share of maintaining common facilities that get used more by the owners of the larger boats.