Town council in Midland, Ontario has balked at making a quick decision on whether to accept as a gift the former Great Lakes passenger ship SS Keewatin.
The 111-year-old ship once ferried prairie-bound immigrants from Owen Sound to the Lakehead. It was retired from service in 1966, and since 2012 has served as a maritime museum at Port McNicoll on Georgian Bay.
The current owner, Skyline Developments, proposes to relocate the Keewatin to Midland at no cost.
The company would cover moving expenses and the cost of setting up a new berth. It would also pay for renovations for the next five years and offset any operating losses for a decade. In addition, Skyline would cover the cost of relocating the ship if Midland decided to move it to an alternate location on the local waterfront in the future.
Eric Conroy, president of the volunteer group Friends of the Keewatin, made a presentation this week on behalf of Skyline. He said that as a maritime museum it has broken even at Port McNicoll, but would do much better at Midland where it would be more accessible to visitors.
Councillors decided it would be unwise to rush a decision without having an independent business study done first. They passed a motion directing town staff to ask Skyline to pay for a third-party evaluation to demonstrate that the Keewatin would be a sustainable acquisition for Midland.
Conroy told tbnewswatch.com in an interview Wednesday that he feels Midland is the ideal location for the historic vessel, but if an arrangement can't be made there are other ports interested in hosting it
Skyline hopes that by donating the ship, it will qualify for a federal tax receipt for about $48 million, which is close to what Conroy has said is its estimated value.
