A riverboat could be cruising down the Rum River from Anoka city docks by May under a lease agreement approved by the City Council.
The council voted 5-0 Monday night to lease the City Hall dock as the home port for a 150-seat paddle-wheeler owned by SkipperLiner Industries, a La Crosse, Wis., boatmaker. The company expects to operate the riverboat and sign the dock lease shortly, said City Manager Tim Cruikshank.
SkipperLiner built the $1.6 million riverboat, which began cruising last June in La Crosse. The firm hopes to get the boat, which has a restaurant and bar, on the Rum and Mississippi rivers by early May, officials said. The riverboat will offer dinner and sightseeing cruises, and cater private parties or weddings.
"I think it is a great opportunity," said Mayor Phil Rice. "There is a question of getting it in [the river] and seeing how well he can function in that water."
River depth was an issue in lease discussions with SkipperLiner sales president Dan Nelson. Nelson, who didn't return calls Tuesday, initially asked the city to guarantee the Rum would be navigable, city records show.
The city paid $160,000 to dredge the Rum River for 700 feet, at a depth of 4 feet, below the City Hall docks in November when the river was low. The state Department of Natural Resources let the city dredge down to 862 feet above sea level, Rice said.
"We agreed to maintain it at that level. The water [river level] is up to God," Rice said.
If the Rum runs too shallow for the paddle-wheeler, which has a 3.5-foot draft, it would relocate to city docks at Peninsula Point Two Rivers Park. The park sits at the confluence of the Rum and the Mississippi rivers, just below the Anoka-Champlin bridge.
