With most business on the agenda wrapped up May 17, the Tellico Village Property Owners Association Board of Directors were presented with the possibility of a new amenity for boaters.
Dock Captain Kirk Eidenmuller, Public Works Director Jeff Gagley and Chief Financial Officer Parker Owen presented the possibility of building 44 covered, single-well slips on a new dock at either the Yacht Club or Tanasi.
“First of all, the docks that we currently have are double-well docks,” Eidenmuller said in a follow-up interview. “Those are the docks that were put in by Cooper back in 1993. There’s been no real improvement since that time to the present.”
The proposal comes after a survey sent out in the fall showed a demand for covered docks, with 44 residents indicating they would be willing to put down a deposit for a covered slip.
“We started discussing this back in about 2015,” Eidenmuller said. “We did not want to enter into this lightly. We had to do our due diligence, we had to do the research and find out if enough people were interested in it before we proceed. That takes time.”
The covered, single-well slips would measure 21 feet by 30 feet and allow boaters to use a lift to keep their boat out of the water when desired — something not currently offered.
There are currently 646 slips on 21 docks throughout Tellico Village. Few are covered and all are double-well, Eidenmuller said.
“It’s pretty much the standard,” Eidenmuller said of the proposed dock. “Many other marinas have these single-well docks and I think it’s the direction we should be going in our future.”
Owen showed a projected cost for the slips at about $439,943, with an additional $60,000 for electrical work, bringing the total cost just shy of $500,000.
The minimum rent if all slips are filled over the next 10 years — making the project cost-neutral for Tellico Village — would be $2,062 annually per slip.
Concerns were raised from the board as well as Villagers attending the meeting on pricing that assumes the dock will be full at all times.
Prices ranging from $2,100 to $3,000 were suggested for possible rent, with Bruce Johnson, board president, ultimately asking Owen to come up with several rent scenarios to present at the board’s workshop June 6.
Gagley and Eidenmuller are seeking the board’s green light on a price for rent for the slips to secure leases on a three-year commitment, which would allow the Village to bid out the project, develop a final cost assessment and timetable and get final approval to start construction.
Either the Yacht Club or Tanasi basin were suggested for the project.
There is room for the project at Tanasi, but Gagley proposed floating the dock with the smallest slips at the Yacht Club, which current has the most vacancies, to the Tanasi basin and building the new dock at the Yacht Club.
Concern for the appearance of the covered docks at the Yacht Club, which holds weddings, was raised by Winston Blazer, POA general manager.
Gagley acknowledged the concern but added that property owners near Tanasi might have similar concerns.
If given the go-ahead by the POA board at its June workshop, Gagley and Eidenmuller would begin reaching out to homeowners near the two locations.
Overall, Eidenmuller believes Villagers will be happy with the new amenity.
“People are asking our boaters who are kind of enough to take them out, where are your covered docks? We don’t have many covered docks,” he said. “When our prospective owners come in this is the kind of upgrade they want to see.
“… A lot of the boaters today have large investments in the boats and are looking to protect them,” Eidenmuller added.
Should the project proceed, it will start with one covered dock. Additional docks will be decided by demand.
“Many individuals are quite satisfied with the double-well,” Eidenmuller said. “They’re less expensive and that’s perfectly OK. We have to follow what the boat owners in Tellico Village are telling us.”
In other business, the board ...
• Approved $19,200 from the water and sewer fund for the purchase of a water booster pump at the Wellness Center.
• Approved $9,878 for a chemical delivery system for the Wellness Center pool.
• Approved $16,907 for 10 jet ski lifts — one at Kahite, seven at Tanasi and two at the Yacht Club.
