Oregon City parks staff presented the findings of a KPFF Consulting structural assessment on Dec. 3, saying the John Storm Park dock can still support its original 60-foot, 40-ton design but would need upgrades to host larger commercial vessels.

"Since there's only minor deterioration to the condition of the dock, the facility can certainly support its original design vessel of the 60 foot 40 ton," said Tom Kissinger, Parks and Recreation deputy director. He told commissioners the dive inspection on 07/22/2025 found pile pitting and some missing through rods but described the concrete floats as in good condition.

Kissinger outlined three levels of work: routine repairs to restore original capacity (replace missing through rods, repair damaged whalers and bull rails), stop-and-go upgrades to serve much larger tour boats, and more substantial modifications needed for prolonged stays. He gave cost estimates for those options: about $20,000 for routine repairs, roughly $470,000 to enable short stop-and-go visits by a vessel the size of the Portland Spirit (150 feet, ~360 tons), and higher-cost prolonged-stay options (one plan estimated about $770,000).

Staff said their modeling used two real vessels at the Marine Board's request: the Portland Spirit as an upper-bound test and the Crystal Dolphin (84 feet, about 91 tons) as a medium-size reference. "For stop and go operations, we could accept a larger boat at John Storm," Kissinger said about the Crystal Dolphin scenario, but he added that prolonged stays increase wind and mooring loads and would require additional reinforcement.

Commissioners and staff also discussed constraints beyond the city's control. Several members noted river navigability and shallow draft issues that would likely prevent very large vessels from reaching the dock even if upgrades were made. Commissioner Mike Mitchell and others said the Portland Spirit is effectively too large to navigate to the site under current channel conditions.

Staff highlighted grant and license conditions. "We have a license with the Department of State Lands for 60 feet of commercial usage," Kissinger said, and expanding commercial allocation to about 90 feet would require the Oregon State Marine Board to take a proposal to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, which would determine whether repayment, partial repayment or no action is required under prior grant terms.

The KPFF assessment cost about $35,000 and was paid from the parks operating fund, staff said. The report also identified additional damage to a debris boom protecting the dock, with repairs estimated at approximately $70,000; staff noted there is no current funding for that work and that grants may be required.

After discussion, commissioners indicated consensus to proceed with the routine repairs (about $20,000) and to ask staff to pursue the middle-ground scenario — expanding the commercial allocation to roughly 90 feet — and to return with a concrete proposal for the Marine Board and the federal grantor. Staff said they will continue scheduled maintenance regardless of the policy decision.

The commission did not take a formal roll-call vote on policy changes during the work session; staff said they would consult the city attorney and the Marine Board and return with more detailed options and cost estimates.

What happens next: staff will continue the identified routine repairs, gather further information on funding and permitting implications of an expanded commercial allocation, and report back to the commission with a formal proposal for Marine Board and federal review.