PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — People who rent slips at the Gulfport Municipal Marina will soon see their rates go up by as much as $700 a month!
"It's definitely challenging to try and wrap my head around it," said Jonathon Ross, a charter captain in Gulfport.
Ross operates a boat charter out of the Gulfport Municipal Marina … and said he may be moving his business if slip fees increase.
“The majority of the businesses are trying to figure out what their next move is going to be. Are they going to stomach it and just swallow the pill, or are they just going to try to relocate to other marinas that are offering a lot more in exchange for these expensive rates?” Ross said.
The City of Gulfport voted to increase slip rental fees for everyone back in September … but most recently, the city also voted to add on a commercial slip surcharge.
Starting Feb. 1, 2027, a six-pack charter boat could see a $200 monthly fee, with that surcharge increasing to $400 a month starting in August.
"It's been a nightmare," said Ross.
"It just seems a bit extreme, its a 100% markup for us," said Scott Hutsko, another charter captain.
Hutsko said it’s something that many charter boat owners can’t afford and he’s considering moving marinas.
“We are already eating five-, six-dollar gas prices and trying not to raise prices for that. Adding this on top of that a month for a small business guy like me and some of the other charters is going to put us out of business,” Hutsko said.
City leaders said the increase is needed to make updates to the marina, cover post hurricane costs, and to proactively offset the possible impacts of amendment three if it passes.
Randel Dunham lives in Gulfport and wonders why the charter captains need to pay for these impacts.
“Look at all these slips here that people pay monthly for, and the ship store, and the millions of dollars they sell in fuel a year, and they have no money?” Dunham said.
He also says tourism will suffer if charter captains decide to move to another marina.
“The only way they know there’s a marina here is because they found Sandy Toes Boat Charters on Google Search and came to this marina, and they had no idea that this marina was tucked away in the corner of Gulfport,” Dunham said.
“I run about 400 charters a year, and during that time, anywhere from two to six people on board. That’s quite a few people who have never heard of Gulfport before,” Hutsko said.
Captain Hutsko hopes the city and commercial boaters can come up with a better solution.
"I'm hoping we can still bring people back to the city from here and find a way to make this work," he said.
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