Why do I want to be a Commissioner?

The simple answer is that, as a fisherman that uses the Port almost every week six months out of the year, I care about keeping it viable and vibrant. I feel like with my business background I can bring a new perspective and fresh ideas to the evolving challenges facing the Port. With the ever changing financial and regulatory environment becoming even more challenging, business as usual is not likely a recipe for long-term success. I also think representation on the commission from the sport fisherman moorage holder would be a good thing.

Background

Dane received his MBA from the University of Oregon before starting a 17 year career at Boeing managing software development projects and teams. After leaving Boeing, he founded an aviation software company. As CEO he grew the company to 30 employees before selling the company after 6 years due to the impacts of COVID. He continues as a part-time consultant to the company that purchased it.

Dane and his wife Stephanie spent as much time as possible at their beach house in Rockaway Beach, and in 2020 sold their house in Sherwood and moved full-time to Rockaway Beach to be closer to the ocean and fishing. After moving to Rockaway Beach, Dane became a licensed General Contractor and has been building houses ever since. While quite a departure from aviation software development, he has enjoyed getting out from behind a computer and working with his hands.

In his spare time, he and Stephanie spend as much time as possible on the ocean fishing in their boat Game Changer, which is moored in the Port of Garibaldi. His other hobbies include racing sailboats and camping.

Dane has been on the Port of Garibaldi Budget Committee the past 3 years and is on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Tuna Classic Tournament run out of Garibaldi each summer.

Dane spent several years on the Board of Directors for the Willamette Sailing Club in Portland, which has many of the same challenges as the Port of Garibaldi including the need to support the facilities/dock maintenance with limited income sources (moorage fees are a major component), dredging every so many years to keep the facility viable, and balancing the needs/desires of a wide variety of stakeholders all centered around the water-based facilities.

Some of my thoughts

The port’s mission to “maximize business and recreational opportunities within its district” is the key to what the port does, whether it’s recreational fishing, commercial fishing, restaurants/businesses in the Port, the common denominator is bringing people to the Port to take advantage of recreational opportunities and support our businesses. To do that, the Port must be financially sound. It’s not an easy task, bringing in enough revenue in this challenging economic environment (raising costs from inflation, potential significant loss of timber revenue which is a major source of Port funding, ongoing costs of dredging, etc.) to support ongoing port operations and continuing to maintain and improve the facilities. That needs to be done while keeping the cost to user groups affordable – after all the goal is to get people to come and use the Port and patronize the businesses.

We need to invest and promote the port, look at creative ways to bring in more revenue with the resources we have, make sure the cost is being borne equitably between user groups (businesses in the Port, moorage holders, daily users, etc.).

One of the most concerning things for me, as a budget committee member the past few years, has been the fact the Port had no money saved in a reserve fund for dredging, relying on getting grants or requiring loans to pay for dredging – to me this is just too risky and expensive to take on the debt. The real problem is that dredging is going to be necessary every 4-6 years (we really waited too long this last dredging cycle – at really low tides some boats literally could not leave the marina) and a good portion of the transient dock was unusable except at high tide.

I believe there are opportunities for technology to save costs and help increase revenue, and hopefully with my software development background I can help identify and champion these opportunities. Empty slips don’t bring people into the Port.

The Port of Garibaldi includes areas outside Garibaldi such as Rockaway Beach and Twin Rocks. How can we communicate to these towns the value they get from the Port while also helping the Port thrive – after all they pay property taxes to support the Port.

Any questions, please feel free to reach out – portcommissioner@danewinchester.net