Marinas and Moorings Committee — Minutes

1 VILLAGE OF EPHRAIM MARINAS AND MOORINGS MINUTES WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2026 – 8:00 AM 9996 Water Street - Ephraim Village Hall Action Items: B. Nelson moved, Thorp seconded to approve the minutes of July 8, 2026, as presented, all ayes. Motion carried. Plansky moved, Thorp seconded to adjourn at 9:35 AM, all ayes. Motion carried. Present: John Held (online), Bruce Nelson, Bob Plansky, BD Thorp, Tim Nelson-Chair. Absent: None. Guests: None. Staff: Brent Bristol - Village Administrator/Harbormaster, Justin MacDonald – Fire Chief/Maintenance Manager, and Kim Roberts – Deputy Clerk. 1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by T. Nelson at 8:01 AM. 2. Changes to the agenda: There were no changes. 3. Visitors’ Comments: There were no comments. 4. Approval of the previous minutes: B. Nelson moved, Thorp seconded to approve the minutes of July 8, 2026, as presented, all ayes. Motion carried. 5. Discussion regarding future use of newly acquired property north of Firehouse Dock: T. Nelson introduced the item, identifying the property as the former Krist/Olson property, which the Village recently acquired. Now that the Village owns the property, it was appropriate to discuss its potential uses. He noted the significance of the acquisition, explaining that it links Village property to the south with Firehouse Marina and the Village property to the north in front of Hillside, creating a continuous corridor of Village-owned waterfront. A discussion was held regarding the new property acquisition. Held suggested the Committee consider whether it has a role in making recommendations regarding the property's development, noting that such recommendations would likely flow through the Physical Facilities & Utilities (PFU) Committee before reaching the Village Board. He suggested that continuing the rock wall and keeping any walking path as close to the wall as possible—eventually connecting to the crosswalk near the firehouse museum—were logical starting points, and encouraged members to bring their individual thoughts to the next meeting. T. Nelson agreed that while the Village Board would make final decisions, feedback from the Marinas and Moorings (M&M) Committee and coordination with PFU would be valuable. He highlighted the extension of parking spaces along the highway and linking the walking path to the crosswalk near the marina office as near-term priorities that had been discussed even before this property was acquired. He also suggested the Committee consider whether to expand the marina. He shared that he had done some preliminary research on marina expansion options. He outlined two (2) rough scenarios: Constructing an entirely new main dock north of the existing facility, which he estimated at approximately $ 1 million, or more thoroughly developing the north side of the existing north dock with perpendicular floating finger slips, which he estimated at approximately $500,000. Both scenarios were noted to be contingent on resolving a significant parking requirement. T. Nelson noted that with parking regulations at one (1) space per two (2) slips, any expansion would require identifying additional parking spaces—a matter that was acknowledged as likely to generate public pushback. Bristol questioned whether floating piers off the north side of the existing wall, without a breakwater, could offer adequate protection from wave action, noting that cross-ties rather than wall-ties would provide some improvement and that the shallower, more sheltered location could reduce wave exposure. T. Nelson agreed that any floating piers in that location would need to be of substantial construction, similar to those at Anderson Dock, with heavy attachment hardware and driven anchor posts, and noted that the area would never be fully calm without a breakwater. 2 The Committee discussed the possibility of pursuing a breakwater to improve conditions. B. Nelson noted that the water in that area is relatively shallow—six to eight feet (6’-8’) at most, which might make a shorter or partial breakwater more feasible and potentially more acceptable to the DNR. He emphasized that with a waiting list of forty (40) to fifty (50) seasonal slip holders, it is the Committee's responsibility to seriously investigate this option and develop realistic cost figures to potentially shorten the mairna waitlist. The Committee also discussed the parking requirements in more detail. It was noted that at the current ratio of one (1) space per two (2) slips, any new parking spaces created on the newly acquired property— estimated at approximately three (3) spaces given the roughly eighty-feet (80’) of frontage gained- would fall well short of what a significant expansion would require. Truck and trailer parking was identified as a particularly significant pressure on the existing lot, with Bristol suggesting that resolving that issue could free up considerable space for slip holders and transient boaters. T. Nelson suggested that all Committee members come to the next meeting with ideas for the property's use—covering shoreline development, potential marina expansion, walking path orientation, and related infrastructure, without feeling obligated to do extensive formal research first, so that the Committee can collectively develop a set of recommendations for the Village Board. T. Nelson noted that the property's existing natural vegetation included several ash trees, which he described as "short timers" due to the emerald ash borer, as well as at least one (1) unidentified tree of unknown species. He mentioned having asked the maintenance staff to leave that unidentified tree undisturbed until a plan could be determined, to see if it could potentially be worth preserving as part of a larger plan for the area. B. Nelson commented that the acquisition was a long-awaited and very positive step for the Village, noting that the area is heavily used during the summer months and that the new property adds picnic space, shoreline access for children, and additional area for the annual goose roundup. Bristol suggested that the property's small beach area could serve as a kayak and paddleboard launch point, offering a more natural access option than the existing dinghy dock ramp. 6. Discussion regarding Pier and Waterfront estimates for future projects: The Committee reviewed the plan to purchase two used 4-foot by 30-foot floating piers from Pier and Waterfront Solutions (P&WS). Initial confusion arose regarding available inventory due to differing information from onsite yard staff at P&WS. Bristol stepped out of the meeting to make direct contact with P&WS to clarify inventory details and confirm both 4’30’ piers were still available. Bristol was tasked with confirming pier availability, coordinating the purchase, and starting discussions on attachment and cost with P&WS. Held committed to stopping at P&WS to take pictures to determine what improvements the piers would require before delivery. Two (2) pending action items from a previous meeting in relation to additional work to be considered by P&WS were brought up: The clearing of the spur dock area and rock wall reinforcement between piers. With additional work discussed as part of the P&WS worklist, a discussion developed directing Bristol to make contact with the DNR to investigate what options are open to the Village with regard to areas that have never been dredged before, marina expansion, breakwater (or similar/different wave attenuation option). 7. Update regarding off-season work list and current projects/operations: Bristol presented a summary of current project statuses using the working to-do list included in the meeting packet. (See attached list and corresponding status of each item.) 8. New business for the next meeting: The next meeting of the Marinas and Moorings Committee will take place on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at 8:00 AM. 9. Adjournment: Plansky moved, Thorp seconded to adjourn at 9:35 AM, all ayes. Motion carried. Recorded by Kim Roberts – Deputy Clerk Village of Ephraim Marinas and Moorings Worklist Status Strikethrough indicates task completed FIREHOUSE MARINA: Current List: • Dredging north of north dock east to bulkhead line and finish work west of south dinghy pier. o Status: North of north dock postponed as of June 2026 meeting due to increased water levels. Anticipated Fall 2026 for cleanup of work west of south dinghy pier. • Install Water Bottle Filling Station. o Status: Complete. • Replace Exit sign at north end of the parking lot; position it for maximum visibility from the street to maintain visibility for leaving the lot when pulling onto STH 42. o Status: Arrows were repainted in the spring of 2026 (potential of purchase of sprayer to enable Maintenance to respray when fading occurs). MacDonald is working on sign options for the September meeting. Possible “Exit Only” sign at the south end of the marina lot. Move the marina sign closer to the building to open up sight lines to the north. • Weed treatment in marinas. o Status: Firehouse treated in 2026. Moving forward, both marinas should be treated. Consideration should be given to treating as early as possible in the season to effectively treat weeds. • Repair or replace the plastic chains to finger piers as needed. • Replace one of the dock boxes. o Status: Delivery should take place on 8/5 or 8/6/2026. • Replace the two westernmost finger piers on the north dock with 4’ wide finger piers. o Status: Bristol to confirm purchase with P&WS as per motion made at June 2026 meeting. • Dock Staff paint white trim on building. • Reattached all loose caps on North Dock. • Reattach loose cleat on T-Dock o Status: Possibly done. • Replace rotten deck board on T-Dock. o Status: Possibly done. • Mildew Treatment on Marina Office Building. o Status: MacDonald reported that it could be done the week of 8/5/2026 • Mooring field inventory: Stefan was to conduct an inventory of the mooring field to cross-reference boats currently present against contracted slip holders. • Jeff Long and mooring balls: The Committee had agreed to contact Jeff Long regarding why only one of the five expected mooring balls had been placed. • Meet with Jeff Long regarding channel markers for the current season. • Spud pole caps installed. o Status: Completed. FH Marina – Consider for 2026: • Moving dinghy ramp and pier closer to the ramp o Status: Leave for now. • Move large dinghies (whalers) to the south of the south dinghy pier o Status: Staff instructed to keep only one in that area. FH Marina - To consider for the future: • Reinforce rock wall o Status: P&WS estimate • Parking lot crack filling o Status: Estimate obtained from the Door County Highway Department for $5,300. Needs approval. Work could be completed in the fall of 2026 or Spring of 2027. • Replace Nork Dock ramp o Status: Noted it was flimsy and likely to remain in use until either a better option became available or it failed structurally. The dock's approximate length was discussed but not confirmed; measuring it was noted as a needed step • Fill the void under the deck on the north dock • Replace broken concrete walk areas. o Status: When the concrete path is continued from the north towards the marina building, broken areas should be taken care of at the same time. Consider thicker concrete to avoid heavy equipment damage in the future. Address the utility line running approximately six inches below the surface near the north dock's concrete walkway, which has been repeatedly damaged by heavy equipment. He recommended that when concrete replacement work is undertaken in that area, the waterline be placed in a proper utility trench with a heavy steel cover to protect it from future damage. • Redecking the T-Dock ANDERSON MARINA: • Reattach board with cleat • Check and tighten vertical bumper board as needed • Replace missing bumper boards on west end of dock (2 missing?)