Council to talk cruise line deals Tuesday

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - As city officials court two Mississippi River Cruise lines to the riverfront, discussions at Tuesday's City Council meeting will focus on a lease agreement and funding options.

The city is currently in talks with American Cruise Lines and Viking Cruise Lines to have ports of call at Fort Madison. American would require an investment of about $15,000 just to upgrade current docking facilities already in place. Viking would be a more substantial investment in the area of $1.2 million.

Fort Madison City Manager David Varley sent a more polished version of the docking and lease agreement with American to council members on Friday. Under the agreement, the city would prepare the current dock and maintain it in good working order. Estimates for the work are between $30,000 and $40,000 with American willing to contribute $15,000 to the work.

Hall Towing has submitted a bid for slightly more than $20,000 for the work and city workers will be used for some of the work.

American would pay the city $1 per passenger as rent of the pier for the first year and then $1 per passenger or $5,000 per year, whichever is higher, starting in the second year. The rent will increase by a 25 cents per passenger every two years.

The agreement would make the dock non-exclusive, but American would have first priority rights to docking. The boat would tie to the existing caissons and pier and then lower a ramp on the front of the ship for passengers to disembark.

Other ships would be allowed to use the dock, but would have to schedule around the American stops. American plans to include at least 10 stops in this year's cruising season and then up to 30 stops in following years.

Varley also informed the council Friday that he would recommend telling Viking the city does not have the $1.2 million for the needed improvements and see if they have some alternative plans that might work.

"The city's budget does not have anywhere close to this much money for such an endeavor, so the city would probably have to issue a (General Obligation) bond, which would require a vote," Varley wrote in a memo sent Friday.

"There is no guarantee that this bond issue would pass, and then we would be in quite a predicament."

He wrote the council should decide if and how the city wants to spend $1.2 million to prepare for Viking before signing a lease with the company.

He also wrote the city has been working with Viking for more than a year and the parties are close to having an acceptable agreement in place.

In other action, the council is scheduled to:

• vote on a second reading regarding the changes in sewer rates which will bump all sewer users bills about 13% over the next two years. City officials said the increase is to help offset costs associated with the new waste water treatment plant renovations and projected costs of separating the city's sanitary and storm sewer lines, per EPA mandates. That work has to be completed by 2027 or the city could face fines of up to $10,000 per day.

• vote on filing an application with the Iowa Department of Transportation's State Recreational Trails Program for construction of Connecting Fort Madison Phase 4, of the Promoting Outdoor Recreational Trails (P.O.R.T.) trail project.

• vote to purchase $8,662 worth of computer equipment for the Police Department.

• have possible discussion on the rehab of two city parking lots with State Revolving Loan funds that are a reimbursement of interest paid on money borrowed for the waste water treatment plant renovations.


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