Washington’s City Council amended the city’s ordinances so it could create a waterfront docks committee.

The five-member committee: three at-large members who are city residents and two members who are members of the Washington Harbor District Alliance’s maritime committee. The council would appoint all five members.

“The creation of the committee would allow the committee to begin the process of establishing goals and objectives for the waterfront docks,” reads a city document.

Two members’ terms expire June 30, 2015. The other three members’ terms expire June 30, 2016. A member of the city’s Recreation Advisory Committee will serve as an ex-officio member of the waterfront docks panel. During its Dec. 9 meeting, the council appointed Ray Midgett, Jeffrey Woolard, Charles Hough, Fred Watkins and Doug Doscher to the committee. Midgett, Woolard and Hough are city residents. Watkins and Doscher are the WHDA maritime committee’s representatives on the committee.

The waterfront docks committee is a result of a proposal submitted earlier this year to change how the waterfront docks are managed. The changes were suggested by the Washington Harbor District Alliance’s maritime committee.

In August, City Manager Brian Alligood told the council that staff recommended not implementing the recommended changes until the new dockmaster’s station (which includes pubic restrooms and bathrooms, showers and laundry facilities for boaters) is built at the west end of the Stewart Parkway promenade.

Establishing a separate budget for the city-owned docks is one recommendation developed by a panel composed of city officials and the chairman of the Washington Harbor District Alliance.

That recommendation — and the others — came after the City Council directed Alligood to review the previously adopted waterfront docks business plan with city staff and provide a recommendation to the council concerning a management plan. Alligood discussed the matter with John Rodman, city planner; Kristi Roberson, the city’s parks and recreation manager; Joe Taylor, chairman of the city’s Recreation Advisory Committee; and Chris Furlough, chairman of the Washington Harbor District Alliance.

In addition to recommendation of setting up a separate budget for the waterfront docks, the panel made these recommendations:

• Creation of a part-time dockmaster position to manage staff; market the docks and oversee facility maintenance. The dockmaster would report directly to Rodman.

• Reduction of part-time dock attendants to three positions with one working year-round, one

working seasonalIy and one working peak months.

• Delineation of areas of responsibility for the dockmaster to include the docks and waterfront area, with the Festival Park area remaining under the supervision of the parks and recreation manager.