Oak Harbor celebrates the 50th anniversary of the marina this Saturday with a big event. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the city is offering tours, a scavenger hunt with prizes, games and a barbecue lunch.

But after the day of fun, the hard work begins for the citizens and city officials. The marina is not in ship-shape, but fixing the problems will be very expensive. City leaders have already begun the process of educating the community and gathering public input in order to map out the future of the very visible city facility.

Facing the huge cost of keeping the facility operational, city leaders have discussed the unthinkable: closing the marina. It’s just a discussion so far, so boat owners needn’t panic.

But it is a serious situation. A wide swath of residents need to engage in the process of deciding what to do. It’s time for both city leaders and citizens to focus on the marina and find a way to keep it open, hopefully for another 50 years.

As the costs for on-water work and dredging has skyrocketed, the marina’s income hasn’t been able to keep up with the maintenance for years on end. Harbormaster Chris Sublet recently said a $9 million breakwater remodel and $50 million in dredging and channel improvements are perhaps a decade overdue.

A city staff member said past councils have kicked the can down the road countless times, but now the road is coming to an end.

“We need to decide if we are going to pave more road or if we are going to kick the can off the cliff,” Brian Smith, parks and recreation director, said during a council tour of the marina.

The harbormaster recently offered three options: a full remodel, which would be very expensive; a partial fix, which would only kick the can down the road a decade; and closure, which would also cost millions.

The marina is unique. It’s one of only two public marinas in the state that are owned by a city instead of a port district. That has made dealing with the state on things like tideland lease fees more complicated and expensive. It also means that the marina doesn’t have its own public funding mechanism.

The marina is run within the city as an enterprise fund, which means that it pays for itself largely by collecting moorage fees. Tax dollars aren’t diverted to the marina. The fees have been increased, but there’s a limit to how much the marina can charge without driving away business.

There are plenty of people in town who lean toward kicking the can off the cliff. The city has other very expensive concerns. An official said a year ago, for example, that city infrastructure is in a “severe state of decay.”

The marina has been described as a playground for the rich and an overpriced extravagance. People question whether any tax dollars should fund a place for doctors and lawyers to park their yachts.

Of course, the issue is more complex than that. The marina is populated by many smaller boats owned by people who just want to sail or go out fishing and crabbing. After all, Oak Harbor is on an island and is named after the bay it sits on. Residents should have a convenient and easy way to access the water.

The marina also draws tourism dollars to the island and hosts such events as the hydroplane races.

The cost of closing down the marina is estimated to be $11 million, so that’s not an easy answer. Getting rid of the facility, which looms large in countless tourism publications about the city, would simply be a shame and something future generations would surely lament.

The city already has a grant for dredging, though it represents just a drop in the bucket. If the citizens agree, city officials should prioritize the marina and look for more grants on every level of government, find some money in the budget, look at loans or bonding, and explore more creative options, like public-private partnerships.