The South Portland City Council has approved a new lease with the South Portland Sailing Center to offer classes, rentals and charters from a base in Thomas Knight Park again this summer.

The summer of 2014 was the first time the sailing school operated out of the park and the outfit was the only one to respond to a request for proposals for use of the park, which was put out earlier this year by the South Portland Parks and Recreation Department.

On May 18, the council voted unanimously to allow the sailing school to operate for a lease price of $3,125 for the season. This fee includes docking space for two boats, as well as for a small storage shed. Under the lease, the sailing school also has the option to renew for three additional one-year terms.

Rick Towle, the director of parks and recreation, will provide general oversight, management and coordination of the lease agreement and the fees collected will go toward the maintenance and upkeep of Thomas Knight Park, which is located under the Casco Bay Bridge in the Knightville neighborhood.

While the sailing school has the right to operate from the park, public mooring space, with access to the Fore River, Portland Harbor and Casco Bay, will still be available to transient recreational boaters for free.

In addition, the park will still offer unrestricted public access for sightseeing, fishing, kayaking, canoeing and other recreational activities during normal hours of operation. The sailing school plans to begin operating on Memorial Day and it will run through the end of September.

In a memo provided to the City Council prior to its May 18 meeting, City Manager Jim Gailey said last summer’s arrangement with the sailing school was temporary “to see if the public would support this type of recreational activity along our waterfront.”

Gailey’s memo added that the Parks and Recreation Department “found the sailing program to be successful both logistically and financially. South Portland Sailing was able to sustain their operation during the entire season. Their presence at the Thomas Knight Landing (also) allowed for better use and attracted other boaters to the location, as well.”

Gailey also said that the presence of the sailing school at the park “helped curb issues with vandalism, vagrancy and trespassing that had been previously difficult to prevent.”

During the council meeting, Gailey said there were “a lot of positives” for the city in terms of having the sailing school at the park.

The South Portland Sailing Center is owned and operated by Tyler Martin and is the only sailing school in Maine affiliated with the American Sailing Association.

According to the sailing school’s website, its mission is “to provide a fun and affordable sailing program to the community.”

At the May 18 council meeting Towle said he was surprised that more businesses did not respond to the opportunity to operate in the park, saying the request for proposals was not limited to sailing but to all types of waterfront recreation.

“The city has worked hard to let people know about this gem and we need to show (the park) is viable,” he added.

In voting to approve the new lease with the South Portland Sailing Center, Mayor Linda Cohen said, “I’m glad to see our city’s waterfront being used in this way.”

This summer the South Portland Sailing Center will once again be offering sailing classes, rentals and charters from Thomas Knight Park. Courtesy photo