6.7 jcj riverboat wpic

Aldermen sink riverboat agreement

By Stephanie Abbajay

The plans of two companies to moor riverboats along the Grafton riverfront have been torpedoed for now, as the Grafton City Council did not grant the necessary approval for the leases.

At a special meeting May 18 to consider and approve the city’s lease agreements with the companies, Mayor Richard Mosby and four aldermen -- Linda Tolle, John Bradfisch, Joe Wilson and Lynne Adams – voted in favor of the leases. Aldermen Bobbie Amburg and Scott Frenz voted no. Because it was a lease agreement, the vote had to carry a three-fourths corporate majority, or six of the seven, to pass, which it did not.

Amburg was unqualified in her opinion of the project.

“I don’t want those boats here,” she said. “I like the riverfront the way it is.”

Amburg’s property sits directly behind the riverfront where the boats would be moored. The boats would take up some 400 feet of riverfront, between the Loading Dock’s parking lot to Cedar Street. The city owns the property, which includes a green space and a public boat launch. It is the deepest water along the riverfront. Amburg said it isn’t just that the boats would spoil her view, which is currently of open water, but that adding the boats is too much development too soon.

“People don’t realize the impact these boats may have on traffic, noise and congestion,” she said. “And what is now green space will be an asphalt parking lot for 100 cars. Fishermen and boaters use this public launch, too. You know, everything we like about Branson is gone. We don’t go there anymore. The charm is gone because of overdevelopment, and this project smacks of overdevelopment.”

Amburg said both boats would have liquor licenses and pointed out that there are already six liquor licenses within one block of her house. She also said she was not confident that she had enough information from the two companies.

“Although we know where they want to put it they didn’t provide the legal documents we needed, there were no architectural plans and I wasn’t satisfied with the lease agreement,” she said. “I just didn’t like the whole thing.”

Frenz said he voted against the leases because he, too, didn’t feel that he had enough detailed information.

“For months we have been waiting for specific drawings with specific details, and we never got them,” he said. “I need to see engineered construction drawings before I consider these leases.”

Frenz also said that, recently, his constituents have made their opinions known about this project and that they are not supportive of it.

“The majority of my constituents who contacted me about this don’t want it,” he said. “So, even when I get the detailed drawings I have to consider what is best for my constituents.”

The project would have included two boats moored alongside the riverfront. Chris Stockhorst’s project includes a 48-foot by 120-foot barge on which would be built a restaurant, bar and lounge. His project also includes a three-deck paddleboat for excursions. The other company, Riverboat Resorts, plans to moor a 217-foot boat called the Wayward Lady, which would house the Grafton Riverboat Inn & Spa.

The businesses are separate and each would have a separate lease with the city, though they would share parking and the cost to develop that lot. According to terms in drafts of the leases, the city would reimburse Stockhorst up to $21,000 for improvements to the city lot and reimburse Riverboat Resorts up to $38,400. Stockhorst would pay $540 a month while Riverboat Resorts would pay $960 a month, again according to drafts.

Both rents would be adjusted every year based on inflationary indexes.

Valerie Durley, managing partner of Riverboat Resorts, said she was disappointed with the vote and that they have provided the council with all the documents they need.
“We have provided every document requested and have gone back and forth between the council and the planning commission, which approved our plans a long time ago,” she said. “The planning commission and the city engineer signed off on our plans and the council instructed [city attorney Jim] Schrempf to draw up the lease agreement two months ago, so this is a big disappointment. We’ve been working on this since 2004 and this has cost us a lot of money.”

Durley said they met with Mayor Mosby last Saturday and delivered signed and sealed engineering plans for Frenz to review. But unless Amburg or Frenz changes their vote, the project is dead in the water.

“If one of the two aldermen who voted against this was ready to change their vote I would call a special meeting,” Mosby said. “It’s really up to them.”

Durley said if something didn’t change soon, they would look elsewhere.

“We love Grafton,” she said. “This is where we want to be, but it’s been 18 months now and if something doesn’t happen soon, we will move on.”

Brent Thompson, president of the Jersey County Business Association, has worked with the developers to bring the venture to fruition. Thompson said he spoke this week to Frenz about his constituents’ concerns, which include noise and traffic congestion, and that he believes the problems have been resolved.

“To my way of thinking the concerns been worked out,” he said. “They now have a set of official engineered construction plans, both projects have agreed contractually not to provide any kind of outside musical entertainment and, as far as congestion, with the project comes a public parking lot that anyone can use, along with the new public transportation that Richard Williams is working on, a 36-passenger shuttle bus, and the possibility of residents using golf carts on the bike trail, traffic congestion should be less of concern, assuming that all of these things come to fruition of course.”

Thompson said he brought the new conditions to Frenz who told him he’d like to think about it. Thompson is optimistic that the alderman may change his mind.

“I think there is still a real possibility,” he said. “He has not said No to reconsidering it.”

Business-wise, Thompson said though he understands residents’ concerns, congestion is not such a bad thing.

“When you’ve got a nine to ten month business window, congestion is a good thing,” he said. “Congestion is what keeps those doors swinging. This is a good project for Grafton. It’s a perfect fit. ”