SNOW HILL, Md. -- A decision regarding the fate of the Black Eyed Susan riverboat is expected to be made at a town council meeting tonight, January 10th. For months now, the boat has sat idle on the Pocomoke River.
The boat is in need of repairs, and the cost to get it back up and running again is north of half a million dollars. That price tag is why at tonight's meeting, the towns mayor, Michael Pruitt, is going to seek permission to sell it.
"I'm going to ask the council tonight to allow the town manager and our attorneys to put together a bid package," said Pruitt.
Even after the boat is repaired, it would cost a good chunk of change to maintain. Mayor Pruitt asked several captains and financial advisors for their input on maintenance costs, and they each came back with an estimate of roughly $100,000 a year.
According to Snow Hill's town manager, Rick Pollitt, even keeping the boat afloat, while it sits unused, is costing the town money.
"We're paying insurance on it, we're paying to keep the electric going, we had to winterize it, there are ongoing expenses even if it sits there docked," said Pollitt.
And for a small town like Snow Hill, Pollitt said it's simply too expensive.
"We found that it's just going to be an astronomical number, that is far beyond the means of our small town to pay and to expect our taxpayers to pay," said Pollitt. "So I assume the council will probably give the mayor the authority to look into disposing the boat."
Pruitt shares that optimism ahead of tonight's meeting.
"It's out that we want to do something different with the boat and I have a lot of public support behind me saying that we should probably get this boat off our balance sheet and into a private persons hands," said Pruitt.
If the decision is made to sell the boat, the hope is a private entity steps up and takes ownership of the boat, taking the costs off the backs of Snow Hill taxpayers.
Mayor Pruitt said there are already interested parties.
"There's three different factions, probably shouldn't name them yet, but there are three separate factions that have shown some interest in taking this boat off our hands," said Pruitt.
If that's the case, Pruitt said he'd like to have an idea of who's buying the boat within the next few months.
"We're just entering our budget season, we'll start meeting with the department heads and various people in town about our upcoming budget, that will be finalized by the end of March," said Pruitt. "I would love to have some notion as to where we're headed with the cost of this boat as we prepare for our new budget."
The hope is to get the Black Eyed Susan paddling once again, just as long as it's not on Snow Hills dime.
The town council meeting is tonight, January 10th, at 7pm in the Old Fire Hall. The address is 212 W. Green Street, and the meeting will be open for public comment.