Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Leases topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission grants temporary extension, opens wider review of Lake Davenport Sailing Club lease
Summary
After a lengthy public comment period, the Riverfront Improvement Commission approved a 90-day extension of the Lake Davenport Sailing Club lease at the current rate and directed staff to renegotiate lease terms, footprint and escalation schedule before returning with a revised draft.
Donald Orbach, commodore of the Lake Davenport Sailing Club, led a detailed public presentation asking the commission to reconsider recently approved rent escalators and lease language. Orbach described nine decades of the club’s riverfront presence, volunteer-built infrastructure and the club’s role in community sailing education and regattas.
“We would appreciate the Riverfront Improvement Commission looking at us as a partner in improving the Riverfront rather than just a tenant who you need to manage,” Orbach said, and asked why the city proposed a rent escalation that would raise the club’s per-year rent by roughly 67 percent over three years.
Background and concerns: Orbach said the club self-financed dredging, backfill, utilities and clubhouse construction across multiple historical sites, and that the club is a volunteer nonprofit operating community sailing lessons, weekly racing and an annual Polar Bear Regatta that draws regional competitors. He said the club currently pays $3,900 per year and disputed the claim that city expenses or property value justified the proposed increase. He also requested relief from paying for a 75,000-square-foot footprint the club says it cannot control and that remains on an easement area subject to outside uses (railroad staging, dredging) that have damaged the space.
Commission and staff discussion focused on three lines of inquiry: (1) whether the commission should adhere to the escalation schedule approved at the prior meeting, (2) whether the review should reassign the leased footprint to remove the unusable upstream portion, and (3) how flood-response and liability clauses should apply to a volunteer-run, easement-based tenant.
Staff said the escalation schedule (5¢/sq ft to 6¢, then 7¢, then 8¢) came from the last meeting’s approved terms; staff also noted the city can only offer a maximum three-year lease without further council approval, which constrains longer-term capital partnership options. Commissioners suggested staff negotiate with the club to refine lease language and assess whether the leased area footprint can be reduced.
Action and vote: The commission voted to approve a 90-day extension of the sailing club’s lease at the current rate to allow time for staff and the tenant to renegotiate terms, evaluate the leased footprint, and return with a revised draft. A motion to approve a temporary three-month extension at the current rate passed by voice vote.
Next steps: Staff will work with the club to (a) review the per-year rent and the escalation schedule, (b) evaluate whether to reduce the assessed footprint (the club requested removing a roughly 300-foot upstream strip it says is unusable), (c) remove or tailor flood/closure language to reflect operational realities for a volunteer nonprofit, and (d) determine whether a longer-term lease option should be presented to city council if both parties agree. The commission asked staff to return with a revised draft for commission review before any council request.
Ending: The temporary extension preserves the club’s current rate while staff and club negotiate edits to the lease and footprint; the commission did not approve any long-term lease at the meeting and emphasized that a 10-year or longer term would require city-council approval.
