SNOW HILL, Md. - The Town of Snow Hill held a special work session Tuesday evening to discuss the future of the "Black Eyed Susan" river boat that the town purchased in 2020.
Mayor Dr. Jennifer Jewell said to keep the boat and conduct all necessary repairs, the town would have to pay over $600,000.
Mayor Jewell said that is not an expense the town is prepared to pay.
The Mayor said the other option would be to sell the river boat as is.
Corner Shoppe co-owner Zenon Smith says when the river boat was up and running, it increased his revenues.
Smith is hoping the town gets it back to Snow Hill sooner rather than later.
"It's just obviously cost. Cost is the huge ticket on this thing. So it's whether they can swing it or not. We would still love to have it though," Smith said.
Manager Chloe Ward at Del Vecchio's Bakery says she is excited about the prospect of the river boat getting back on the water.
"It's actually brought a few people in, just like looking around just trying to find something to do. I mean there's not much we can do around here anyway but it's just nice seeing people wanting to tour the river," she said.
While Smith says he wishes the town had done more research into the boat.
"The biggest thing is, there could have been ways to avoid the issues that happened and everything but that's hindsight. Everything is 2020 and hindsight," Smith said.
Town Manager Rick Pollitt says he is reaching out to state and federal partners to see if they would be willing to foot the bill for the river boat repairs.