With $45 million in investments coming, Quincy Park District commits to keep Art Keller Marina open

QUINCY — Eight months ago, the Quincy Park District’s Board of Commissioners discussed during its annual retreat the possibility of letting the public weigh in on the future of Art Keller Marina.

The Park Board twice searched in 2021 for a private operator to take over the marina but had no success. Commissioners said during their August 2022 retreat that they could only commit to keeping the marina open through 2023. One commissioner said keeping the marina open after 2023 wasn’t likely “unless something drastic happens.”  Commissioners unanimously voted two months later to commit to keeping the financially struggling marina open through 2025.  

Park District officials have said slip rental revenue has declined during the past 10 years, and the cost of maintaining operations had increased to the point where costs outweighed the revenues. 

How things have changed.

Commissioners voted during their Wednesday night meeting voted to maintain their commitment to keeping the marina open for … well, the resolution didn’t have an ending date.

“Staff was directed by the board to put it on the agenda,” Executive Director Rome Frericks said after the meeting. “Due to the success of the passage of $45 million in investments in the next two years, why not? There’s no reason for the boaters not to show up.”

Dredging the lower part of the Quincy Bay will begin June 1, thanks to a $3.5 million Small Boat Harbor Grant from the U.S. Corps of Engineers. A $42 million QBAREA (Quincy Bay Area Restoration & Enhancement Association) grant from the Senate Appropriations committee in August 2021 calls for the dredging of both the lower and upper bay, starting in 2026.

“Both staff and the (Park) Board believe the boating community will support operations at Art Keller Marina due to the recreational and ecological impact of the current and future dredging,” the resolution read.

Commissioner David Grimm, an avid boater, said the passing of the resolution was “good news.”

“Everything was basically heading that way with the investments that were being made,” he said. “(Park District officials) were going to wait until September to do this, but I said, ‘Let’s do it now, because a marina investor is going to invest $5,000 or $6,000 into a lift, and they’re not going to do that unless they have a long-term investment.

“Now we can, as boaters, sell the marina more efficiently. We can say, ‘It’s going to be here. Invest your money.”

In other news, the Park Board:

• Authorized a public sale of surplus property. It is selling a 2007 Dodge 2500 4×4, a 2010 Ford F-150 extended cab 4×4, a 1997 Ford F-150 and playground equipment at Johnson Park.
• Approved a $12,450 bid for a lighting assessment from DW Inspections LLC. The Park District has 66 light poles at its sports facilities, with 56 of them being wooden and 10 being metal. The light poles will be inspected to give the Park District the current condition and insight to life expectancy.
• Adopted the Illinois Association of Park Districts Code of Conduct for the Board of Commissioners.
• Learned from Mike Bruns, director of program services, that a competitive baseball league has started and the youth soccer program will start Monday at the Paul Dennis Complex. He said a record 915 players on 86 teams have signed up this spring.
• Learned that Grimm is a member of the Lorenzo Bull House committee. Apparently, that was news to Grimm as well. When Park Board President Philpot asked Grimm if he had a chance to meet with the committee, Grimm sheepishly admitted, “I have not. In fact, I didn’t know I was on the (committee) until I saw it in the minutes.”
• Learned a forest therapy park has been created at Nature Trails East, 3420 Koch’s Lane. Forest therapy is a Japanese practice that involves immersing oneself in nature to promote physical, mental and emotional well-being. Forest therapy was introduced in North America in 2012. “It’s literally when you go to the park and want to relax,” said Marcelo Beroiza, director of marketing.
• Learned a 10-year agreement to give naming rights to Refreshment Services Pepsi to one of the fields in the Wavering Park complex is set to expire in October. Frericks said he and Beroiza have met with Pepsi officials to gauge their interest in continuing as a field sponsor.
• Learned concrete work is set to begin next week for the inclusive playground to be built at Wavering Park, and footings have been set for the shelter to be built at Quinsippi Island.