Council to vote on cruise lines, Avenue L work

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - A public hearing set for Tuesday could partially dispense with a months long conversation on docking a cruise line in Fort Madison.

At the regular Fort Madison City Council meeting Tuesday night two public hearings are planned. One to approve a 20-year lease agreement with American Cruise Lines, and the other to set in motion plans to partially straighten the "S" curve on Avenue L from 35th to 36th Street.

The city had been heavily courting Viking Cruise Lines to the city for the past three to four years with little progress being made until this year, when Viking was able to secure a U.S.-based company to build it's Mississippi River Cruise ships.

An engineering study revealed that it would cost about $1.7 million to make improvements to the Fort Madison riverfront to accommodate the Viking ships. While negotiations were underway and city officials struggled to find a way to fund the improvements, American slid in with a much cheaper alternative using current docking structures to anchor it's ships.

Improvements for American totaled between $30,000 and $40,000 with American chipping in $15,000. The city would contract with Hall Towing and use city labor for the rest of the work.

The city would also get $1 per passenger from American as rent for the non-exclusive agreement. An increase in that rate of .25 per passenger every two years is also included in the proposed agreement.

At the last council meeting, Councilman Bob Morawitz asked City Manager David Varley to see if American would entertain a percentage increase rather than the flat .25.

Varley, in a memo to the council sent out Thursday said American officials, "politely declined that offer." Varley also included a table that showed the $1 rate increase would produce more revenue than a 5% annual increase or a 10% biannual increase.

Varley said in a recommendation to approve the lease with the cruise line, that American is ready to sign the lease.

"American is anxious to get a lease signed because they would like to have ten or more stops in Fort Madison during the 2019 season," he wrote. "This number will increase to about 30 stops in the following years and they will try to have a season that runs for about six months."

The city will still be able to allow other boats to use the dock outside of the American docking schedule.

City Councilman Chris Greenwald and Mayor Brad Randolph are still trying to find funds outside of city coffers to help pay for the Viking Cruise ship improvements to have both ships docking in the city.

In the unrelated issue, the city council will also vote to approve a bid to reconstruct Avenue L from 35th Street to 36th Street using money set aside for Hwy. 61 reconstruction. City Public Works Director Larry Driscoll said two weeks ago the project will cost about $550,000.

Plans including taking some of the northwest curve out of the stretch of road, as data from a study conducted on the Hwy. 61 corridor through Fort Madison showed that location as a high-risk area for accidents.

In other action, the council plans to:

• vote on a final reading of an ordinance increasing city sewer rates for all users 13% over the next two years, with additional rate reviews built into the ordinance.

• vote on approving another 1-year agreement with Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission for SEIBUS services in the city at a cost of about $8,500 per year

• vote to pay $5,000 for an easement at the end of High Point Road to allow the city to install a sewer main and complete the project.