Whether or not the Sunset paddle boat remains an attraction to Pierre and Fort Pierre is still uncertain after another lengthy discussion between the owners and city officials at last night’s (Tues.) Pierre City Commission meeting.
Sunset co-owner Caleb Gilkerson again expressed extreme frustration about the lack of communication from city officials.
Gilkerson reiterated that at this point, all he’s asking for is for the city to send the application to the US Army Corps of Engineers to get the federal approval process started. Mayor Steve Harding replied the city doesn’t have enough information to do that.
Jess Burchill with the Sunset says the owners and investors of the paddle boat have already spent over $200-thousand on the project.
Commissioner Jim Mehlhaff supports sending the Riverboat LLC application to the Corps.
Mehlhaff made the motion to pass the application along to the Corps, but the motion died because there was no second. All parties, again, agreed to meet to attempt to come up with a way to resolve the situation, but a specific date to meet wasn’t set.
The Sunset is currently docked along the Bad River in Fort Pierre, but the owners say for a variety of reasons, they want to have a docking area on both sides of the Missouri River.
The City of Pierre leases the causeway land from the US Army Corps of Engineers for public use. Because a private entity can’t lease the land directly from the Corps, the paddle boat owners must go through the city to submit the paperwork required seeking permission to build the dock.
Gilkerson submitted a similar application to the City of Fort Pierre to put a dock at the 5th Ave. Boat Ramp in that town. That application has been passed on to the Corps for review.
You can listen to the entire discussion about the Sunset paddle boat during this week’s Pierre City Commission meeting in the latest KGFX Beyond the Mic podcast. Subscribe for free through Spotify, Google Play, Podbean or iTunes.
