Support Your Ship's Store

Did you know that Tim Hanna can meet or beat pretty much any price from any of our competitors on items he can stock or order for our Ship's Store?

Before you purchase any item related to your boat, check with Tim and save some money.

It is really important to the overall operation of the Port of Sunnyside that our boaters spend their boating dollars in their own marina.

Thank you for your support.

Renter Retention Program

I want to take this opportunity to thank our slip renters for choosing the Port of Sunnyside Club, Inc. as your marina this season and write to you about our Renter Retention Program. We want you to know how much we appreciate you being here at the Port of Sunnyside and how much we want you back for next season. This Program was designed with one goal in mind, to make sure all of our renters from the 2009 boating season return to the Port of Sunnyside for the 2010 boating season.

The Program benefits you by offering lower rental rates and benefits the Port of Sunnyside because we know we can count on your slip being occupied next season. Here is how it works:

You can receive a $5.00 per slip foot discount by paying for your slip rental in full prior to January 15, 2010. This date was chosen because we will be going to the Minneapolis Boat Show from January 20 through 24, 2010, specifically to rent slips for next season. The price for the rental package in 2010, which includes your annual membership, launch, summer dockage, haul out, bottom wash and winter storage is $175 per slip foot. If you choose to take advantage of the renter retention program you can pay $170 per slip foot. The price for our Ala Carte rental, which includes your annual membership fee and summer dockage, is $160 per slip foot. If you choose to take advantage of the renter retention program you can pay $155 per slip foot.

You can still secure your slip for next season without committing to the Renter Retention Program. If you rented a slip through the Port of Sunnyside last season you can still hold on to your slip by paying a $500 deposit by January 15, 2010. The balance of your rental for 2010 must be paid in two equal payments, the first payment will be due by March 1, 2010 and the final payment will be due by April 1, 2010. If you choose this option you will be paying the regular 2010 rental rates and your $500 deposit will not be refundable. We want to make sure we are not trying to rent your slip at the Boat Show.

Our Sunnyside Team

This article is designed to be an overview of how our operations work and what you can expect from us. Our focus is to take care of the boaters in our marina and exceed their expectations.

Our Team

We have a total of seven full time employees and several part time employees who work seasonally on the gas dock, keeping up the grounds and helping with launch and haul out. The following is a list of these employees and what they are responsible for at the marina:

Rick Chapman - General Manager - Oversees the entire operation of the marina.

Melinda Tasler - Accounting/Member Services - Responsible for all billing, financial statements, human resources and anything related to controls and cash handling.

Tim Hanna - Ship Store Manager/Service Administration - Responsible for the administration of all service work performed by our service department and Ship Store Manager. Call Tim when you need service work performed on your boat.

Dick Weirerke - Lead Mechanic - Responsible for the assignment of work to be performed by our mechanics. Diagnoses problems and performs repairs on boats.

Tim Becher - Travelift Operator/Mechanic - Responsible for the launching and hauling out of all boats in the marina. Responsible for all dock repairs and maintenance. Diagnoses problems and performs repairs on boats at the direction of our lead mechanic.

Jon Husie - Mechanic - Diagnoses problems and performs repairs on boats at the direction of our lead mechanic.

Tony Klegin- Moves boats on land and is responsible for the placement of all boats for winter storage, works special projects, dock repairs and building maintenance.

Seasonal Gas Dock Employees - Ricki Keller, Gas Dock Manager and Corie Erickson

Grounds Keeping and Maintenance - Matt Vance

Launch/Haul Out - Gary Stensby and Gary Hermes (Move boats in the water)

Cerified Marina Manager Program

For the past four years I have been in pursuit of my accreditation as a Certified Marina Manager (CMM). This distinction is currently held by just over two hundred managers worldwide. The accreditation is sanctioned by the Association of Marine Industries and requires extensive classroom training in conjunction with a minimum of five years experience in a qualified Marine Industry position. The position must meet a sixteen point requirement. Once the classroom portions of the requirements have been completed an application can be submitted. I completed my classroom requirements in December of 2007 and applied for my CMM in the beginning of 2009. I was asking the Review Committee to accelerate my acceptance due to my accreditation as a Certified Hospitality Administrator (CHA), which basically has the same requirements as a CMM, but for the hospitality industry.

I am happy and proud to report that I am officially a CMM in waiting. The Review Committee accepted my application, but will still require me to fulfill the five years of service. I will therefore be presented as a new CMM during the International Marina and Boatyard Conference in January of 2011.

Becoming a CMM means a lot to me personally and professionally. I want to thank the Board of Directors and all of our slip owners for supporting my efforts to become a CMM and I want to thank all of our boaters who have encouraged me along the way. I think it is really exciting that the Port of Sunnyside will be one of only two hundred marinas in the world that is managed by a CMM.

Update on the New River Crossing

Summary of the MN DOT Meeting on November 17, 2009

On Tuesday evening, November 17, 2009, representatives of the Minnesota Department of Transportation were nice enough to set up a special meeting with residents of the Sunnyside Condominiums and Townhomes, Boaters of Sunnyside Marina and members of the St. Croix Yacht Club, to bring everyone up to date on the current plans for the new St Croix River crossing. The turnout was better than expected with approximately fifty people attending the meeting.

There were three specific people scheduled to speak at the meeting on behalf of MN DOT. The first speaker talked about the overall project and what the bridge and adjacent roadways would look like when the project is completed. His presentation can be found following this link:www.dot/state.mn/metro/projects/stcroix/visualanim.html

During this first presentation we learned that the project is currently planned to begin in 2013, however the project has been submitted for Federal Stimulus and the states will know if the project has been accepted in January of 2010. If the project is accepted, construction could begin as early as the fall of 2010. In either event, the project is scheduled to last three years. The Sierra Club lawsuit to stop the project is in the hands of a Federal Judge. A ruling on this case is also expected in January of 2010.

The second speaker of the evening spoke about the actual construction of the bridge. These specific plans can also be viewed following the same link mentioned above.

The third speaker of the evening talked about "Noise Abatement". The process of determining potential noise from the new bridge is pretty interesting. They actually take noise level samples from the area over a long period of time during all hours of the day and night. They then take noise levels from what they think are similar bridges with similar traffic levels, incidentally this bridge is expected to 50,000 vehicles pass over it each day as compared to 100,000 vehicles a day over the Interstate 94 Bridge. Once they have accumulated all of this information they make a chart that shows the expected noise levels for the next twenty years. In the end, the expected noise levels from the new bridge are not expected, according to their computer models, to surpass the current noise levels from Highways 36 and 95.

During the question and answer portion of the evening the expected questions were asked and answered. The following is a list of the "Big Ones":

Question: Will there be a no wake or speed limit during and after construction?

Answer: This is not a question the MN DOT people can answer. This will be up to the construction company. MN DOT did state that for safety reasons it would only make sense that there will certainly be some restrictions on the river for boat traffic.

Question: What will be done to keep the dust and dirt levels down during construction?

Answer: Everything possible will be done to keep the dust to a minimum; however there will certainly be dust, especially during the excavation and movement of the current Highway 95.

Question: Why can't the bridge be moved further to the south where it is more industrial and less residential?

Answer: In order to have the least amount of impact on the bluffs on the Wisconsin side, the bridge is designed to enter a ravine. If the bridge was moved this would cause more of an impact on the bluffs.

Question: Who can we speak to and how can we impact these decisions?

Answer: You can still speak to the project manager to get questions answered the plan will not change. Twenty eight stakeholders worked on this plan for five years to get to this consensus. Nothing will change the plan now.