Desenzano Launches Boat Slip Lottery Amid Application Disputes

The news that many boaters in Desenzano have been waiting for is now official. The draw for the allocation of boat slips in the four city ports (Pontili basin, Vecchio port, Rivoltella, and Zattera) will be held on Wednesday, April 11, at the municipal offices.

Once the “lottery” is conducted, the provisional ranking will be published; then, barring setbacks or administrative appeals, it will become operational. Generally, it is believed that before the start of summer, the fortunate boat owners will be able to cast off from the Desenzano port.

Those less fortunate, on the other hand, will have to undertake the painful operation of hauling out their boats to bring them home or transfer them to a private port.

Docking issues and participation applications

However, finding available moorings is almost impossible, considering private operators close bookings in autumn. At the Desenzano municipal offices, at least 700 applications have been received for 450 available slips. Therefore, the draw has been automatically triggered.

Months ago, applications were carefully examined; some lacked documents or photographs. The municipal offices requested additional information, an operation that was completed in recent days.

Disputes and verification of applications

No one has confirmed the rumor that numerous applications might be false. In some cases, it was found that several applications contained photographs of boats attached to photos of other boats — classic duplicates.

Such tricks have also been observed in past allocations when the Port Inspectorate was responsible for assigning the slips.

Work of the technical office and disputes over allocations

The work of the technical office and Councilor Giovanni Venieri has been demanding: sifting through hundreds of applications, performing cross-checks, deciding on objections raised by the oversight body, and revising the call for applications and regulations.

As is remembered, Oreco raised objections regarding the pre-emption rights introduced by the Municipality for boat owners who had already obtained concessions last year.

In short, a challenging start for all municipalities, with one exception: Sirmione.