It appears the city of Peoria could be losing its Spirit.
Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich and city attorneys are recommending the city council waive its right of first refusal to acquire the Spirit of Peoria riverboat.
That would leave Yacht Starship Dining Cruises of Tampa, Fla. free to purchase the boat for $1 million.
The sales agreement doesn't include an appraisal, and Yacht Starship waived its right to a marine survey if the Spirit's current owners, G&G Packet Company, would attest the mechanical equipment works. The owner of Yacht Starship is the registered business agent in Florida for Pinnacle Marine, which recently resold the Julia Belle Swain.
Capt. Alex Grieves, owner of the Spirit of Peoria, notified the city of a potential sale on Feb. 1, 90 days before the expiration of the city's riverboat landing redevelopment agreement. That agreement grants the city a right of first refusal to purchase the boat.
The city independently confirmed Yacht Starship made a $300,000 down payment on the boat with Pinnacle Marine, but the other financial information requested wasn't provided. The city turned down an offer from Grieves to have Yacht Starship place the remaining $700,000 in escrow if the city waived its right to financial information.
The Trust Bank of Tampa provided a letter showing Yacht Starship has the money to buy the boat, but the company hasn't provided financial information requested by the city.
City staff said they do not have the requisite financial information to determine if Yacht Starship's offer constitutes a bona fide offer (an offer made in good faith by a qualified purchaser). The city staff say they can't complete the due diligence process on the purchase without the requested information.
If the city council rejects waiving the right of first refusal, Peoria would purchase the boat for $1 million dollars, albeit without an appraisal, sea survey, or the requested financial information on Yacht Starship.
City staff noted Grieves would be free to sell the Spirit of Peoria to whomever he wishes when the agreement with the city expires in April. The city also could try to find another boat owner or operator for the Spirit of Peoria's current riverfront space after the lease expires on April 30. It's a possibility Mayor Rita Ali told WCBU on Thursday might be in the cards.
"That's something that we're considering, that we're having discussions about," she said. "If we lose the Spirit of Peoria, how do we attract another – what are the opportunities out there? From my understanding, there's just not trillions of boats out there that would fit our environment. So, we'd have to probably get some assistance and some consultation in terms of how we would go about doing that. But again, I'm certainly in favor of either retaining or attracting a boat for our riverfront."
The Peoria City Council meets Tuesday.
