What’s a summer in Marquette without a marina? Or, in fact, any sizable town on a Lake Superior shore?

The Presque Isle Marina is scheduled to receive improvements this summer, including a new boat launch, skid piers and a parking lot. Toward that end, the Marquette City Commission recently approved a local contractor, the Ishpeming-based A. Lindberg & Sons Inc., for the project.

The bid was for about $407,000. Also, as part of a seven-year plan to increase marina-related revenues and balance the Presque Isle Marina Fund and Cinder Pond Marina Fund, seasonal slip rates have increased each year since 2011.

The city is getting financial help, too, as it was awarded a $201,000 grant from the Michigan State Waterways Fund. The remaining cost will be funded through a 15-year city-issued general obligation fund.

Having the marina project partially paid for through a grant is good news. Financial challenges are common in the municipal world, and when grant money can be used to offset project costs, it eases the burden in other municipal areas.

However, it’s not only the grant that’s good for the city, it’s that the marina will be better for boaters, of which they are many in the area.

The existing launch ramps and docks will be removed and replaced with a two-lane boat launch. The adjacent parking lot will be replaced with a new asphalt lot with concrete curbing, painted markings and new electric utility services with LED lights – all things many people would want to see in a parking lot.

The Presque Isle Marina provides fuel, launching, docking and support facilities for boaters, who – figuratively – help fuel Marquette’s economy.

So, it’s not only the boaters who benefit from the marina project. Everybody does.