Marina Restaurant: (2023) Rent: $5,300 Free Electric: $6,330!

For two decades, Evans Taxpayers were told that the specs for the RFP for the concessions contract at the Sturgeon Point Marina included taxpayer-paid electricity since there was only one electric meter for the entire marina. The truth is that the maintenance building and the restaurant have separate electric meters. [ Click Here To View the 2023 Electric Bills ]

The short version is that in 2023, Evans Taxpayers received $5,300 in rent while paying $6,330 for electricity. [ See Note #1 Below ] The cost of electricity was $1,030 more than the rent paid.

The contract also includes:

• Taxpayer paid water
• Town employees clean the bathroom
• Taxpayer pay for paper & consumables products for the bathroom
• Town employees maintain the office (what does this include?)
• Town employees make repairs to the building as needed

While the above items represent a significant cost to Evans Taxpayers, this post focuses on the cost of “free” electricity.

The $6,330 question is why are electric bills higher when the restaurant is closed for the off-season? A reliable source told EvansNY.News that the lessee was using electric heaters. A good choice when the electricity is free!

The graph below shows the monthly electric bill, rent, and profit/loss.

Over the twenty years of one-bid contracts, not one Evans Town Board Member questioned the cost to taxpayers nor voted against approving the agreement.

I am not a lawyer, and I am not offering a legal opinion. Below are laws that might be relevant to this concessions contract.  Should the NYS AG and the NYS OSC review the Sturgeon Point Marina Concessions Contract?

LAWS

New York Consolidated Laws, Town Law – TWN § 117. Certain contracts and expenditures prohibited: “Except as authorized by law, no officer, board, department or commission shall during any fiscal year expend or contract to be expended any money or incur any liability or enter into any contract which by its terms involves the expenditure of money for any purpose.“

In 2005, via Resolution #145, the Evans town board approved the Sturgeon Point Marina Concession Contract. [ See Note 3 ] Karen Erickson abstained. This shows that a conflict of interest existed.

Executive Law – EXC § 63-c

1. Where any money, funds, credits, or other property held or owned by the state, or held or owned officially or otherwise for or in behalf of a governmental or other public interest, by a domestic, municipal, or other public corporation, or by a board, officer, custodian, agency, or agent of the state, or of a city, county, town, village or other division, subdivision, department, or portion of the state, has heretofore been, or is hereafter, without right obtained, received, converted, or disposed of, an action to recover the same, or to recover damages or other compensation for so obtaining, receiving, paying, converting, or disposing of the same, or both, may be maintained by the state in any court of the state, or before any court or tribunal of the United States, or of any other state, or of any territory of the United States

The NYS Constitution’s “Gift and Loan Clause” [ Read Note 2 Below ] states that municipal monies and resources are only for government purposes.

Several state and local laws address taxpayer funds benefiting employees.

The questions for Evans Taxpayers:

• Are 20 years of one-bid contracts ethical?
• Is losing money on the lease ethical and legal?
• Should NYS officials take a look at the concessions contract?
• Was the Sturgeon Point Marina Restaurant contract a political favor?
• Why didn’t the town Board seek more bidders?
• Why didn’t the Town keep detailed accounting records of the costs incurred at the restaurant?

As a landlord, the Town of Evans should have made money renting out the Sturgeon Point Marina Restaurant.

Unfortunately, the town lost a significant sum of money over 20 years.

[ Click Here ] To Download The PDF File With Additional Information.

NOTE 1

The concession contract for the Sturgeon Point Marina Restaurant runs from May to April. The electric bills run from mid-month to mid-month. Rent received, and electric bills are pro-rated to calculate the profit/loss in 2023.

NOTE 2

NOTE 3