With a little luck, six Oak Bluffs residents will get a chance again this year to rent one of the coveted slips in the town’s harbor for the season.
The town selectmen, acting on a recommendation by the harbor advisory committee, will make six slips available. Oak Bluffs will award the slips by lottery.
“The town acknowledges that its year-round resident taxpayer population has no other opportunity for dockage at the public Oak Bluffs Marina,” an advertisement announcing the slip lottery said.
The cost, discounted considerably over the daily slip rental fee, is $75 per foot, with a 30-foot minimum.
Three slips will be set aside for boats with a beam, (width) measurement of up to 10 feet. Three others will accommodate boats with a 12-foot beam.
The offer was also available last summer, but harbormaster Todd Alexander said only two residents took advantage of the seasonal slip rentals.
Applications for the lottery are available at the Oak Bluffs selectmen’s office at 56 School Street. Applications are also available by email, by sending a request to obmarina@comcast.net.
Last year, the harbor’s 80 slips and 45 moorings yielded $959,000 in revenue, according to Mr. Alexander. Harbor receipts are in important source of revenue. In fiscal 2009, the harbor accounted for 3.7 percent of all the revenue the town collected.