Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz
Crescent City Harbor commissioners entered into a five-year contract for Mike Rademaker to continue as their harbormaster, Chairman Gerhard Weber announced Wednesday.
Rademaker will receive an annual salary of $114,000, Weber said, reporting from a special closed session meeting before the Board’s regular meeting. The vote on Rademaker’s new contract was 4-1 with the Harbor District Board’s vice chair, Annie Nehmer, dissenting.
Weber said he and his colleagues also conducted a performance evaluation for Rademaker.
“There are still some details that will be worked out,” Weber said. “And those details have to do with the performance component with housing provided, and if housing doesn’t come through, what will be the financial exchange. Those are all details that will be worked out within the next two weeks and then the actual contract will be ratified.”
Rademaker said his contract with the Harbor District hasn’t been fully negotiated yet.
Rademaker became interim harbormaster in October at an annual base salary of $94,000. He replaced former harbormaster Tim Petrick who resigned on Sept. 20, 2024 amid allegations of credit card misuse.
Rademaker’s initial contract with the Harbor District in October included his being allowed to live in a 360-square-foot studio apartment at the port in exchange for being on-call during and after business hours.
On April 9, the Board of Commissioners extended Rademaker’s contract as interim harbormaster for another three months while increasing his salary to $114,000. Nehmer opposed that decision, telling Redwood Voice Community News that her colleagues had agreed to give Rademaker a raise despite not being fully aware of the port’s current financial situation.
On Wednesday, Nehmer and her colleagues heard from Stephen Denny, who had stepped in as the district’s finance director on a temporary basis earlier this month following the sudden resignation of David Negus.
According to Denny’s report, commercial revenue has exceeded the budget by 10 percent so far this fiscal year, from July 2024 through March 2025, averaging $10,000 more per month compared to the previous fiscal year.
This is due to a 75 percent increase in commercial hoist leases, which is bringing an average of about $31,000 per month this fiscal year so far, Denny told commissioners.
Revenue from the Harbor District’s two RV parks is also exceeding the budget by 33 percent and has doubled compared to the first three quarters of the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to Denny.
“That’s $186,000 for the first three-quarters for fiscal year 2025 compared to $102,000 for all of last year,” he said. “Redwood Harbor Village opened last May for guest rentals and Bayside [RV Park] leases are also doing much better than expenses.”
Guest rentals are up more than double what was projected in the budget for Redwood Harbor Village, Denny said.
However, poundage fees from seafood being brought into the Crescent City Harbor have decreased by more than half between July and March compared to the same time last fiscal year, Denney told commissioners. This is due to the salmon season closure and it “just being an off season” for crab, he said.
Recreational slips are also running below budget for the month of April compared to April 2024, Denny said.
“However most of the slips are averaging $15,000 more per month this fiscal year,” he said. “So, that’s a $50,000 average this year versus $35,000 last year, and that’s in part due to stronger sales in February and November of last year.
After announcing that they had agreed on a five-year employment contract with Rademaker, Weber said he and his colleagues directed Rademaker to draft a contract with Sandy Moreno, who will be overseeing the district’s finances for about three months.
Moreno, a former bookkeeper with Fashion Blacksmith who had been a Harbor District tenant for 40 years, has been a frequent critic of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioners agreeing to hire Moreno, who will be working as a private contractor, according to Rademaker, is proof that the Harbor District isn’t afraid to work with someone who’s been critical in the past.
“She has a lot of good ideas and we don’t have anything to hide,” Rademaker told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday, Moreno’s first day on the job. “She has a real enthusiasm that I can’t ignore and so we’ll see how it goes.”
The Harbor District still intends to work with Denny, who had helped the port secure COVID relief dollars in the past, according to the harbormaster. Office Manager Kristina Hanks will also continue to do the day-to-day bookkeeping for the Harbor District, Rademaker said.
“We’re at a real pivotal stage in the harbor’s history,” he said, “and I’m the kind of person who really wants to reach out to good resources wherever I can find them.”
