At a Clay County Commission meeting, commissioners agreed to post the Smithville Lake marina waiting list online, extend the response window when staff contacts people about openings, and direct parks staff to study dock expansion and the feasibility of replacing an uncovered dock.

The moves respond to repeated public complaints about long waits for boat slips at Camp Branch, Paradise Point and Sailboat Cove marinas at Smithville Lake and to requests for more transparency about how the waiting list is managed. Parks Director John Davis described the current inventory, renewal and relocation process and provided counts and revenue figures the department reported.

Davis said Camp Branch Marina has 212 leasable slips, Paradise Point Marina has 267 and Sailboat Cove holds 62 sailboats, for a total of a little over 500 slips countywide. He told commissioners the dock system currently produces roughly $1.036 million in annual slip revenue, and that a new 40-slip covered dock would cost in the neighborhood of $1.9 million (he said the structure itself was roughly $1.3 million, not including delivery, utilities and labor). “We conduct renewals, relocations. We determine available slips, then we go on to the waiting list after all the relocations are done,” Davis said.

Residents told the commission they wanted clearer, easier access to the waiting-list status. “It seems like we could be more transparent around that waiting list,” Commissioner Whittington said during the discussion; he later added during public comment, “I think it’s crazy that we’re charging them $20 to sunshine go through the sunshine process to just find out where they’re at on the waiting list.”

Several speakers described long waits and inconsistent replies when they called marina staff. Mark Krogstrom, a Smithville resident and frequent lake user, said he had been on a waiting list years ago and that residents lose opportunities when waits stretch for many years: “By the time my kids were ready, we missed that opportunity,” Krogstrom said. Kirsten Windblade, another Smithville resident, urged a public posting and a simple, consistent sign-up mechanism so people without ready internet access could have equitable access.

Commissioners and staff stressed trade-offs between supply and demand. Commissioner Wagner cautioned that increasing slip capacity can bring more boats to the lake and change the user experience; Commissioner Carpenter and others said expanding supply or changing pricing are the main levers to shorten wait times. Carpenter asked staff to analyze demand by slip size so any expansion would match market need.

By consensus the commission directed parks staff to do the following: post a public version of the waiting list on the county website (names only, omitting private contact details); stop removing people from the list when they decline an offered uncovered slip so the declination will not automatically erase their place; extend the response window for staff outreach from 24 hours to three days; and provide commissioners follow-up information on (a) the feasibility and likely cost of replacing or covering the so-called H Dock (the uncovered dock) and (b) options and estimates for adding slips or extending existing docks. The commission also asked staff to prepare communications to notify commissioners when the administrative changes are implemented.

Staff said some administrative and legal limits apply. Davis noted docking equipment, electrical and permitting needs and said retrofitting an uncovered dock to a covered structure would require further study; he also flagged potential coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for any capacity expansion that affects the reservoir footprint. Commissioners requested that the parks master plan scope include fee analysis and capacity recommendations and asked that staff return budgetary cost estimates so the panel can consider funding options.

The commission did not take a formal roll-call vote on dock construction or fee changes; the directives were given as administrative consensus for staff follow-up. Commissioners said they expect the parks master plan and the staff reports to provide the longer-term options for capacity and finance, while the posted waiting list and the operational changes are intended to give immediate transparency and reduce citizen frustration.

Staff and commissioners asked lake users to provide continued feedback about policy and to participate in the master-plan process when the county issues public outreach opportunities.