Mprb, Flatiron And Skipperliner
A posting to the Minneapolis Issues Forum, by Robert Johnson:
Skipperliner moved the boat from Bohemian Flats to Boom Island in the spring of 2007. They were having a difficult time getting customers to the [Bohemian Flats] site, so they combined operations at Boom Island. To say their site was taken away is a stretch at best. Seems to me, Mr. Sigglekow projected the revenues from Skipperliner would be 1 million dollars over the ten year term of their contract in 2004. Seems like he missed the mark a bit if they owe $20,000 in past due fees for last year and an estimated $35,000 for this year. Many business owners lost money due to the bridge collapse and I'm sure no one forgave their property taxes. Because the boat contract is based on a percentage of business, the fee paid for last season already was adjusted due to lower boat revenues attributed to the collapse. For Mr. Lawrence or Skipperliner to suggest they spent $150,000 because the Bohemian flats were not available to them is an outright lie. They are trying to get the tax payers to pay for a business loss which was the result of a tragedy where people lost their lives. At the same time they have been shamelessly promoting their tours as 35W bridge tours.