Tahoe Keys Marina's new owners take charge

unedited 3/09 Tahoe Mt. News

By Kathryn Reed

Changes are coming to the Tahoe Keys Marina now that it has new owners. But they hardly resemble what is being relayed in the rumor mill.
Condos are not part of the mix. Nor are they an allowed use in the master plan approved by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
The Fresh Ketch is staying.
Parking is likely to improve as land owners in the area work together. The California Tahoe Conservancy and the marina owner met March 4 about this topic.
Public launching is still available.
Tahoe Keys property owners may continue to put their boat in and take it out once a year for free.
Jean Merkelbach, who bought the South Lake Tahoe marina with an out of town partner for more than $20 million, is ready to invest more money in the seasonal facility. The duo, whose business name is Tahoe Keys Marina and Yacht Club, purchased the marina in December from Lake Tahoe Docks. That entity had bought the marina from longtime owners Ray Carreau and the late Dick Horton.
Merkelbach, 49, would like to attract retailers to the area so it becomes more of a destination – but she isn’t looking to Ski Run Marina as a model because she realizes her marina is more seasonal and is likely to stay that way.
“We are looking to have more services available for the boating customer and Tahoe Keys homeowners,” Merkelbach said. “This summer we hope a boater can pickup a basket lunch or breakfast and take it out on their boat. We will have additional courtesy slips which will be good for the Fresh Ketch. We want to have a shuttle system so they can pick something up easily which they have not been able to do in the past.”

Tenant situation

For now, most of the current tenants are staying. Two which are leaving are the South Lake Tahoe Yacht Club and group fitness classes affiliated with Sierra Athletic Club.
The yacht club wasn’t paying rent, that’s why they were asked to go. Merkelbach said she offered a fee arrangement but the yacht club said no. The yacht club doesn’t see it quite that way.
“We talked to them about the opportunity to lease back the room. What we ended up with was a 30-day notice to vacate the premise,” said Paul Jenkins, past commodore of the club. The club left in February. “They didn’t want to talk money. They wanted the room for themselves.”
The yacht club as of press time was still looking for a home.
Joe Pettit, owner of Sierra Athletic Club, sees the change in location for his classes as a good thing. He will be renting a spot across the parking lot from the club which is in the business park at the corner of Tahoe Keys Boulevard and Venice Drive.
The change means instead of two days of group classes he could offer seven. Even though it’s not necessary to be a member of the club to be in a class, Pettit thinks the closer proximity of the two facilities will be good for the people using both aspects of his business.
Ben Fagen, who has a design firm by the same name at the marina, is one of the longest tenants at more than 20 years. He isn’t going anywhere. In fact, the blueprints for the improvements Merkelbach wants to make will come from his office or be done by David Goldman who runs Evergreen Architectural Design in the same building.
“I’m pretty happy with how they are thinking about doing deferred maintenance and taking care of the buildings we have here,” Fagen said.
Walker Marine has been onsite since 1999 and plans to stay.
Tahoe Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit, is moving downstairs.
KRLT radio station’s parent company Cherry Creek Radio is still negotiating with Merkelbach about its future.
“From my standpoint they have been very professional with us. We are happy tenants there,” said Kirk Warshaw, Cherry Creek’s chief financial officer. “From our standpoint it is a wonderful location.”
The station has had a month to month lease for a long time, but would like a long term lease.
“We hope to get people who don’t have leases to have leases,” Merkelbach said. But she wouldn’t elaborate more about the lengths of any of them or their rates.
Warshaw said it would not be that difficult for the station to move and that FCC regulations would allow it to broadcast from Nevada. But he added that he is hoping to work things out with Merkelbach.
Lake Tahoe Power Boat Co. is planning to stay. The status of Tahoe Keys Boat Rentals is unknown.
Merkelbach is moving her real estate office from the Venice complex to the marina. She works for Distinctive Homes Southebys International Real Estate
Other newbies include a sunglass shop and Chris-Craft dealer coming in the summer. A clothing retailer is being talked to.
Primarily retail geared toward boaters is what Merkelbach wants to attract.
Vacancies exist at the marina, but she didn’t have the square footage. She says she has enough commercial square footage to do what she wants.

Parking conundrum

The decade-old master plan calls for 100 more parking places. CTC owns the nearly 1.3 acres situated between the parking lot and Cove East. It’s covered with fill from the project that restored the wetlands. That property could become parking.
The Conservancy owns another acre across from the Truckee River that could come into play. It’s possible the public agency might sell it to the marina owners.
CTC realizes it needs to provide more parking for people coming to use its 200 plus acres. It’s anticipated more people will recreate there as the Upper Truckee River improvements are made and if a link is created between Cove East and Barton Meadow.
“We need permanent public parking off the street,” said Bruce Eisner, CTC program manager.
Eight spaces can immediately be added by removing a larger planter box – something on Merkelbach’s to-do list.

Immediate upgrades
A cleaner marina and less clutter are the first things the owners went after. Improvements to 48 of the 248 boat slips should begin this spring. New ones are not being added.
“There are some slips in the back that were encroaching on homeowners’ land. It is relocating the slips,” Merkelbach said. The ones in question are behind Walker Marine.
Exterior improvements to the buildings are likely to be more immediate – even if it’s just a coat of paint. More pedestrian access is in the works, too.
“We are hoping to have a water walk with fire pits, with some seating outside,” Merkelbach said. The idea is for people to easily walk around the area, make it appealing, safe and be a destination of sorts.
Meetings have been conducted with Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association officials to see what role homeowners might have in improvements. TKPOA General Manger Ed Morrow said of recent meeting with owners, “I didn’t hear anything that disturbed me.”
Merkelbach said there might be room to install volleyball courts.
TRPA required inspections for invasive mussels will be the norm.
She doesn’t know if launching fees will change.
Marina staff will be identifiable by their uniform.

Future improvements

Even though “yacht” is in the name of the business, the owners have no intention of creating a yacht club. Nor are any condos anticipated.
“I don’t even know if it would be good if it could get approved,” Merkelbach said of condos. It’s a rumor she had heard as well and one she wants to squelch.
Shrink wrapped boats may one day be a thing of the past.
“The master plan allows for inside boat storage,” Merkelbach said. “Where (storage) is now is unsightly. I’d like to make it good for us to look at and the homeowner. We are not going to do anything different than what was approved (in the master plan).”
When this project would start is not known. Fagen said Evergreen will be working on designs for the boat storage.
Merkelbach isn’t sure what will be done with the dance studio area where the fitness classes were conducted. She’d like the entrance to be more appealing and perhaps be a place where boaters would first check in.
She envisions a new façade to make the marina more contemporary and visually appealing, but that’s down the road.
“We aren’t going to do anything to rock the boat that has made the marina a success so far,” Merkelbach said.