OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford
A boat glides toward the Dunkirk Marina recently, as people waiting for a press conference watch on the Pier. The Dunkirk Common Council has approved a new lease for the city-owned portion of the Marina.
The Dunkirk Marina officially has a new leaseholder.
The city Common Council unanimously ratified a lease with Triple S, LLC at its meeting last month. It did so without comment, after a 20-minute executive session to discuss contract negotiation matters.
The move apparently ends a more than yearlong saga that started when previous leaseholder Charles Pringle transferred the marina lease to Peter Smith in the spring of 2023. Then-City Attorney Michael Bobseine felt the transfer was improperly done. Bobseine served a default notice to Smith in September 2023.
That gave the city an opportunity to distance itself from Smith after he ran into legal trouble, and was subsequently found to have weighted his catch at a walleye tournament, in a separate incident.
City officials then asked the county Industrial Development Agency to step in and assist in the situation.
Steve St. George, Allan Steinberg, and John Atzrott run Triple S, LLC.
The city owns a portion of the Marina property, which is split by the Pier along Dunkirk’s lakefront. The Common Council ratified the Triple S purchase of a privately held portion of the marina in August. Council’s resolution in August stated, “Should Triple S Marina buy the privately held portion… the city wishes to enter into a companion lease with Triple S Marina.”