After more than six months of study the Port Study Committee recommended the town buy Chestertown Marina. Funding for the project would come from grants, something the Port Study Committee had already investigated. The committee had been told they could have $300,000 in grant money to help with the strategic planning part of the project.

Mayor Margo Bailey thanked the committee for all their work and asked the council what the next step should be. All agreed that the town needed to proceed with caution and to ensure that no local tax dollars would be used. Mayor Bailey asked Town Manager Bill Ingersoll, who is also the town’s chief financial officer, what the next move should be. Ingersoll recommended the town start negotiations with the owner, Roy Kirby, over the purchase price of the property. The Mayor and Council agreed to move forward with the negotiation process and to extend the purchase deadline by 60 days.

Speaking from the audience, Kirby said he bought the marina two years after coming to the town not to make money, but because it appeared that it was pretty important to the town. He said that he was not looking for a home run on the sale of the property, but would like to be made whole on the purchase price and debt. According to state property records Kirby bought the marina in 2004 for more than $1.4-million. At the meeting he said his debt was more than $900,000.