Gibsons Marina is now officially under the Klaus Fuerniss Enterprises Inc. (KFE) umbrella. The hand-off happened at the marina on May 15.
“We are really very excited to jump in and get started,” developer Klaus Fuerniss said. “We want to be a service-centred marina, taking advantage of technical efficiencies so that our associates can make the marina’s guests’ needs their priority.”
Fuerniss said his priorities are to computerize the system and look for ways to improve the marina’s services to the public.
“Everything else comes with experience,” Fuerniss said. “What we don’t know, we don’t know, so we learn as we move along. Really, we’re not there to rock the boat. We are there to service the customers.”
Through the course of the purchase, some of the marina’s employees retired and others moved on to different opportunities.
“We did not lay off anybody,” Fuerniss said. “We offered the employees exactly the same wages they had received before.”
Parking has long been a problem in the marina; however, Town staff have used the purchase as an opportunity to address this.
“The parking area is probably what we’re the most excited about,” chief administrative officer Mani Machado told Coast Reporter.
“Now with the establishment of the public market, there’s been an increase in the need for parking,” Machado said. “So what the Town has asked for is the marina folks — the current and particularly future owners — to work with the public market to have a shared parking agreement that benefits both parties. They’ve agreed to do that.”
The purchase of the Gibsons Marina is a component of Fuerniss’ plan to build a five star resort on the waterfront. However, members of the Shoal Bay group have spoken out against this, saying that it will restrict their waterfront access.
“Everyone who has a waterfront property has water access rights,” Machado said. “Part of [Shoal Bay’s] concern is that parts of the marina infrastructure might be impeding the access. We [Town staff] don’t necessarily agree with that, but we have been working with the province and the parties down in that area to find a solution that works.”
The Town has yet to hear back from Shoal Bay.
The marina was originally established by Art McGinnis and Jon McRae in 1980 and opened to the public two years later. The marina proved to be profitable and ever since its opening has passed on a portion of its earnings to the Town.
“It’s been an awesome 32 years,” McGinnis said. “I’m 85 years old, so I don’t plan to take up any new achievements.”
Visitors to the marina — tourist or local — are being encouraged to fill out a customer satisfaction survey on the marina website: www.gibsonsmarina.ca
