St. Charles puts showboat up for sale

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- The St. Charles City Council has decided to sell the 93-year-old Goldenrod showboat, citing higher-than-expected costs to repair the vessel.

Last month, the council voted to resume renovating the floating dinner theater, which has been closed for 18 months because of structural problems. But on Tuesday night, the council unanimously directed city administrator Jim O'Connor to pursue other options.

O'Connor said he would first see if a nonprofit group or any private investors have any interest in acquiring the boat to keep it on the Missouri River in downtown St. Charles. Moving it to Alton, Ill. -- or other locales inside or outside the St. Louis area -- also will be explored.

"I think we'll find a taker," O'Connor said.

Alton officials have voiced interest in the Goldenrod, which St. Charles bought in 1989 before shifting it the next year from its longtime location on the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis. Since then, the suburban St. Louis city has devoted more than $3.5 million to ongoing maintenance and a new mooring facility.

A marine engineer advising St. Charles had estimated that steel box girders mandated by the Coast Guard for the Goldenrod's hull would cost between $80,000 and $100,000. But the lowest bid to do the work was $289,189.

Councilman Richard Baum said he "had been in favor of trying to keep it here for a long time. But I don't believe the community feels that way anymore. We've given it a college try."

Mayor Patti York, an early supporter of the Goldenrod's move to St. Charles, said she agreed with the council's latest action. She said the city's application to federal agencies for money to help renovate the boat had little chance of success.

The $289,189 bid falls within the $300,000 maximum that the city had committed to spend as part of a contract with a new dinner theater operator, KKI Entertainment. But council members also were concerned about other repair costs yet to be pinned down, such as painting expected to exceed $90,000.

Councilman Rory Riddler said political support for keeping the boat had slipped away because of the poor repair estimate. He said he hoped the use of historic tax credits could convince private investors to buy the boat.

"Hopefully there'll be a solution for this, short of scrapping it out," he said.

If the city fails to fulfill its contract with KKI, it must reimburse the company for some of the more than $300,000 that KKI itself has spent on the boat. O'Connor said the city is on the hook for at least $160,000, though the exact amount must be negotiated.

KKI head Kelly Kerr said after Tuesday night's vote that he would consult with his financial backers to decide what to do next. He said putting in a bid to buy the boat was one prospect.

Kerr had hoped to reopen the Goldenrod on June 1 with a performance of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Delays in getting Coast Guard approval for a repair plan changed the projected opening date to at least October.