Depoe Bay council schedules harbor workshop after heated public comments on fuel dock and revenue

Residents, harbor workers and council members pressed the Depoe Bay City Council on Tuesday to resolve disputes over operations and revenues at the city’s fuel dock and to restore a stronger role for the Harbor Commission.

Shulei Wisniewski, a Depoe Bay resident, told the council the harbor “is being undermined by the very people elected to protect it,” and said the council has “stripped the commission of any meaningful input” and excluded stakeholders from decisions. “We must begin to seriously consider a recall of this council’s leadership,” she said, adding that the dock is a “lifeline, not a convenience.”

The council and staff described the fuel-dock controversy as part of a broader fiscal shortfall at the harbor and agreed to a sequence of meetings to gather input. The council set a joint workshop with the Harbor Commission for June 11 at 5 p.m. to review fueling operations, revenue options and stakeholder feedback; council members said they intend to hear from the commission and from harbor stakeholders at that meeting.

Why it matters: The harbor supports charter fishing, whale-watching operators and other maritime businesses that residents and speakers said are central to Depoe Bay’s economy. Council members and staff told the meeting they are balancing revenue shortfalls, operational staffing and regulatory limits on work in the water.

What officials and speakers said - “This council has stripped the commission of any meaningful input,” Shulei Wisniewski said during public comment, urging greater collaboration and threatening recall if the council does not change course. - Cindy Chico, a resident and former local business owner, urged mediation and a detailed workshop to resolve the dispute between the city and harbor users. - An oral statement attributed to Chris Shaffner (read into the record) urged the city to revise its fuel-dock labor allocation formula; the statement urged returning to a “half a minute per gallon” labor allocation and argued the city’s current formula overstates labor costs. - An unnamed Harbor Director told the council the earliest practical date for federal dredging is 2026 and emphasized that the Army Corps of Engineers controls dredging timing, not the city.

Decisions, directions and actions - Workshop scheduled: The council agreed to a joint work session with the Harbor Commission on June 11 at 5 p.m. to review fueling options and revenue strategies (council direction; no formal ordinance adopted at that meeting). - Staff announcement on fuel hours: Harbor staff announced temporary fuel-dock hours beginning on the third (month/date announced by staff) of 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Tuesdays and Wednesdays closed until additional staff are hired. That change was presented by harbor staff as an operational decision, not by formal council vote. - Dredging timeline: The Harbor Director stated the earliest Corps-permitted dredge is 2026; the council cannot accelerate that federal schedule.

Outstanding questions and context - The harbor faces an operating deficit the council estimated at about $100,000; council members said fuel-dock policy is one of several levers under review to close that gap. - Several speakers urged the city to include the Harbor Commission and affected operators earlier in any decision process; council members responded by scheduling the joint workshop and asking the commission to host stakeholder discussion ahead of the workshop. - The Army Corps’ permitting timeline constrains any near-term dredging; the city said it cannot perform in-water dredging without federal permits.

Ending: Council members and residents said they want more data-driven analysis and open stakeholder discussion before final policy changes. The June 11 workshop is intended to surface options the council may act on in subsequent meetings.