I need to get everyone moving quickly – before Friday evening. Hope you are not all tired of hearing from me :o)

This is the statement I received from Fred Hayes, the Director of Utah State Parks:

“The Executive Appropriations Committee has a couple of options available. First, it can accept the subcommittee recommendations and appropriate the money for the dredging of Utah Lake. Second, it can change the recommendation, and appropriate the money for the dredging of GSL or for dredging in general without specifying where it is to be used. Third, it can appropriate additional money beyond the $1.5M, or fourth, it can strike the appropriation altogether and choose not to do any dredging. Until the session ends, we won't know what the will of the Legislature is, making our discussion rather fruitless. I do know that there are many individuals, myself included, that are working to identify funds that could be appropriated to make it possible to dredge both Utah Lake and GSL. I would recommend that similar efforts by the GSL sailing community might be the best use of time between now and the end of the session. It would seem most effective for your community to work with your elected representatives, especially those who are involved in the Executive Appropriations Committee, between now and the end of the session to try and find funds to do the dredging at both marinas, or to facilitate a change in the legislature's thought process and shift the money to GSL. “

WE HAVE A VERY SHORT WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY - I need everyone to start writing and contacting the members of the Executive Appropriations Committee and convince them to either change the current recommendation and appropriate the money for dredging of the GSL – OR find an additional 1.5 million dollars to dredge the GSL Marina in addition to Utah Lake State Park Marina (and apparently this idea is not too farfetched, it is actually achievable for them to find the money to do this). You can write letters – but I would also urge you to call the Committee Members or visit them on Capitol Hill and talk to them. Every Utah citizen is welcome to contact these people. I BELIEVE WE WILL MAKE MORE PROGRESS IF PEOPLE ARE HUNTING THEM DOWN AND TALKING TO THEM FACE TO FACE.

If any of you are already familiar with the lobbying process – please see if you can make arrangements to take others with you one day and show them the ropes. And then split up, divide and conquer :o)

If you have never lobbied at Capitol Hill – you might want to attend this event Monday, February 23:

Citizen Engagement Events - The National Alliance on Mental Illness and Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Services are hosting a pair of advocacy days (Feb. 10, 9-10 a.m., Copper Room, first floor of East Senate Building; Feb. 23, 10 a.m.-noon, second floor of Capitol Building. Participants will be taught about citizen-lobbying guidelines and information about the legislative process. (Reminder that they will want you lobbying for their causes, but it is not a requirement) Once participants are up to speed, you can hunt down your Legislators and ask them to support the appropriation of the money for the GSL Marina or urge them to find more money – we really don’t care which. (Reminder that the people teaching

Here is a link to the article that appeared in City Weekly a few weeks ago “How To Get Your Lawmakers To Listen” http://e.cityweekly.net/cityweekly/2015/01/29/#?article=2435550

LETTERS:

In my opinion we should start our letters like this:

My name is (insert your name) and I have been a member of the Great Salt Lake Marina Community since 1994 (insert the year you came to the marina), and have paid Utah State Parks over $30,000 (insert your amount paid) in slip rent over those 21 years. It is extremely URGENT that the Executive Appropriations Committee either find an additional 1.5 million dollars to dredge the GSL Marina or change the current recommendation of 1.5 million to dredge Utah Lake Marina and now appropriate the for the dredging of the GSL Marina State Park.

(NOTE: If you belong to the Rowing, Kayaking, Canoeing Communities at Great Salt Lake – please modify the above statement to let them know how long you have been at the marina and how often you use it, and probably statements about why you prefer the GSL Marina over other marinas).

Letters should then state facts – please do not go into a lot of fluff about sunsets and trivial details. These Senators and Representatives have a lot of issues they are dealing with right now – and we need them to understand that our situation is an urgent one. If your letter does not hit some points that get their attention quickly, it will most likely lose its effectiveness. We are asking them to spend 1.5 million dollars on this marina and we need to give them some compelling reasons to do so. In my opinion one of the most important aspects of this that will get them to act is the fact that the Rescue Boats will not be able to get out much longer. Without dredging the projection are the mouth of the Marina will be 2-3 feet by May (best case) and 1 ½ -2 feet by May (worst case). The canoers, kayakers, rowers, brine shrimpers, duck hunters, swimmers and tourists often need to be rescued (not to mention the occasional downed airplane). This is a matter of public safety.

Utah Lake has 5 marinas and 19 access points. Great Salt Lake has 1 semi-functional marina, and the launch ramp is only functional for very shallow draft boats, like duck hunting boats.

Next explain to them your plans for your boat – explain that these are not motorboats that we pull up on a trailer and park in our garage. If dredging does not occur soon – when will you plan on pulling your boat out (also, I would encourage everyone to hold off on registering their boats and paying the property taxes that most come due in April or May – until you decide if you will be pulling out of the Marina on crane days in March, April or May. Why give the State of Utah this money if they refuse to give us a functional marina. Please remind them how much money they will be losing annually from your slip rent, registrations fees and property taxes.

This decision to not dredge the GSL Marina has completely devalued our boats. We have sailboats and no place to take them (Bear Lake has a 5 year waiting list). So you most likely cannot sell your boat in Utah, because there are no marinas for sailboats available. No one is interested in buying a boat they can’t use. Most of us will have to sell our boats out of state or move them to a functioning marina in another state. And then there is the matter of trailers, a lot of us will need to go out of state soon to buy trailers and bring them back.

If one of the Executive Appropriations Committee Members are YOUR Senator or Representative – please let them know that you are a constituent (any one of the people who live and vote in their area, in other words if you have the ability to vote for or against them in the next elections please let them know). I have put the area that each Senator and Representative represent on the contact list.

If we don’t want OPENING DAY AT THE MARINA this year to be a FAREWELL TO THE MARINA – we need to be loud, we need to be vocal, we need to be seen – and we need to let them know we are watching what they do.

In addition to the Appropriation Committee Members – please also send letters to the Governor, The Lt. Governor and Fred Hayes at Utah State Parks (fredhayes@utah.gov)

2014 Executive Appropriations Committee Members

Senators:

Lyle W. Hillyard (R)

Executive Appropriations Chair

lhillyard@le.utah.gov

Cache, Rich

Stevenson, Jerry W. (R)

Executive Appropriations Vice Chair

jwstevenson@le.utah.gov

Davis

Niederhauser, Wayne L. (R)

wniederhauser@le.utah.gov