EVERETT — One way that people have been saving money during the recession is to put their boats in the driveway or the back yard instead of the marina.

Moorage use at the Port of Everett, which operates one of the largest marinas on the West Coast, is down 15 percent to 17 percent, according

to Scott Grindy, acting marina director.

It’s no secret that the port would like to change those numbers, so it’s been surveying voters for the past several years to see how they feel about the marina and what changes they’d like to see.

“We get a lot of good comments,” Grindy said. “If we get a lot of responses, we know it’s something we need to improve on.”

Last year, boaters said they wanted to be able to buy more food items on the waterfront and have better restrooms and laundry facilities. Some visitors said they’d like to be able to go to the Tulalip Casino and maybe shop at the outlet stores nearby, Grindy said.

As a result, the port recently rented out its former marina office on the waterfront to the former Popeye’s Kayak and Marine, now called Aqua Trek Kayak and Marine Center, which added more basic food items and kayak rentals to its kayak tours and supplies.

“It’s like a 7-Eleven,” Grindy said, adding the port would also like to see a larger grocery in the area to serve boaters as well as commuters who drive along the waterfront.

And the port also has been trying to improve restrooms and laundry facilities.

“We’ve tried to modernize the restrooms and make sure the services are there,” he said. “People look for services at a marina the same as they do at a hotel.”

One new service, Grindy said, is a shuttle service that will be offered by the Tulalip Casino this year from May through September.

The buses will stop at three locations: the port’s new Waterfront Center at 1205 Craftsman Way, the Port Gardner Inn at 1700 W. Marine View Drive and near the Woodfire Grill at 1222 W. Marine View Drive in Marina Village. The schedule hasn’t been set, but it will be listed at www.portofeverett.com when it is.

“It’s a real nice partnership,” Grindy said of the casino shuttle. “Customers have been asking for it. And there are a lot of sailors (at Naval Station Everett) in the dorms without a car.”

This year, the port sent out surveys to tenants with their moorage bills and got 222 responses.

Asked what was the most important attraction for the port, about half the respondents said its convenient location. About 14 percent mentioned services and 11 percent mentioned cost.

Generally, the port received good or excellent marks for cleanliness (91 percent) and similar scores for customer service, staff availability and the overall experience. Eighty-nine percent of those responding said they would recommend the marina to other boaters.

“That’s a big one,” Grindy said of the recommendation numbers. “People are what sell any business.”