Fernandina Harbor Marina operator asks city to end management deal

By Mike Lednovich/Editor

Alliance Marine — the Fernandina Beach City marina operator formerly known as Oasis — has asked the city to end its management agreement early for the city-owned facility, the city said in a statement released Tuesday.

“The City has been notified that Alliance Marine (formerly Oasis) no longer intends to operate marinas they do not own, including the Fernandina Harbor Marina, and has requested an early termination of their agreement,” the city wrote.

The issue is scheduled for discussion at the March 3 City Commission meeting. City officials emphasized that “no official decisions have been made at this time,” and that any action would occur at that public meeting.

Oasis Marinas took over day-to-day operations of Fernandina Harbor Marina on Dec. 1, 2020, after the city commission approved the contract late in 2020.

Oasis later rebranded its Fernandina Harbor Marina website now lists the operator as Alliance Marine and states “Oasis is now Alliance Marine.”

According to city and media records, Fernandina Beach has relied on contracted, third-party management for at least the last 16 years.

In January 2010, the city announced that Westrec Marinas would manage and operate the Fernandina Harbor Marina starting Jan. 15, 2010, following a city request-for-proposals process. Oasis Marinas replaced Westrec effective Dec. 1, 2020.

Records reviewed do not clearly document whether the marina was directly city-operated prior to Westrec’s 2010 start. What is clear from available city materials and coverage is that, in the modern era, Fernandina Beach has used private operators rather than running the facility fully in-house.

The operator change request comes after a turbulent period for the marina, which suffered major damage during Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 and reopened with a soft opening in January 2020 after more than three years closed.

City officials said they released the information now “in the interest of transparency,” noting that public discussion may occur before the March 3 meeting. Any decision regarding termination of the agreement or next steps for marina operations would be taken up by the City Commission at that public meeting.

Last year, the city's Waterfront Advisory Board broached the concept of the city running the marina without a third-party contractor. Members claimed the move would save the city significant operator fees.