Medina approves lease for boat for overnight stays in canal as guest rental
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Medina Village Board approved a lease agreement with Erie Floatel, LLC to have a house boat at one of the floating docks in the Canal Basin until Oct. 31.
MEDINA – The Medina Village Board has approved a lease for a house boat to be at the Canal Basin, a boat that will be available for short-term rentals and overnight stays.
The boat will remain at the dock and won’t be operated in the canal. The board approved the lease with Erie Floatel, LLC of Medina for use of the floating dock on south end of the canal for $220, plus another $100 for electric and water consumption for the season.
Erie Floatel will be operated by Andrew Meier and Svein Lilleby. The lease runs from Memorial Day to Oct. 31, 2025.
The lease agreement has been discussed at length in recent board meetings. Medina officials said the project is unusual along the canal and adds another feature for visitors to the community. Erie Floatel will be available to rent through Airbnb as a short-term rental.
The Village Board and Erie Floatel reached an agreement for the business to have $2 million in insurance coverage with the Village of Medina named as “additional insured” in Erie Floatel’s umbrella coverage of $2 million.
Brian Hellner, operator of North Star Cruises, said the village reached a more favorable tenant agreement with Erie Floatel than with Hellner’s boat ride business which started in 2023. Hellner said the village made him have $2 million in general liability coverage, not umbrella coverage and also didn’t make utilities available for his boat.
Mayor Marguerite Sherman and the board members said Hellner could have access to water and electricity at the same $100 rate.
Village attorney Matthew Brooks said the village has insisted on the $2 million of minimum insurance coverage, and Erie Floatel met that requirement.
Hellner said the village should insist the house boat is inspected and safe for the public. Brooks said a marine inspection is not within the purvey of the village.
Heather Farnsworth Hungerford, co-owner of the Bent’s Opera House, cautioned the Village Board from leasing too many of the docks spaces to businesses, limiting the public use of the properties. She said the house boat business for overnight stays could also discourage investment in the historic downtown for lodging.
Sherman said the leases in the Canal Basin are short-term for less than a year so the village can re-evaluate them. Right now, only two of the spaces are being leased. Sherman and the board members said there is still an abundance of dock spaces for the public.
“These are short-term leases so we have an opportunity to correct them if something goes wrong,” said Brooks, the village attorney.
Sherman said the board appreciates North Star Cruises and Erie Floatel for the services they are offering in the community.
“We are being fair,” she said. “We’re trying to work with our businesses as best as possible.”
Village attorney Matthew Brooks said the board is approving short-term leases that allow for re-evaluating after each season. In back are village trustees Mark Prawel and Scott Bieliski.
