Kimmswick Mayor Phil Stang said he’s happy residents in that small river town saw the importance of passing Prop M on Nov.8, which will allow the city to collect a business license fee from for-profit museums.
Specifically, it will allow the city to collect up to 3 percent of gross receipts that museums make from admission fees and charges for tours, bookings, exhibitions and other business operations.
While there currently are no for-profit museums in the city, the measure was proposed in light of the effort to bring the historic Delta Queen steamboat to town, where it will be based and offer cruises up and down the Mississippi River. If and when the venture opens in the city, Kimmswick will be able to collect up to 3 percent of the money it charges for cruises.
“I’m very excited, and I’m happy that the residents of Kimmswick saw the need,” Stang said.
The measure passed by a vote of 59, or 76.62 percent, to 18, or 23.38 percent.
Stang said that’s a high voter turnout for Kimmswick, which, as of 2010, had 157 residents.
“Usually we have 50 or so (voters), so to have about 80, that’s good, but it was a presidential election, and that’s what drove it,” Stang said.
The proposition won’t affect nonprofit museums, like the Kimmswick Historical Society.
Cornel Martin, president and CEO of the Delta Queen Steamboat Co., said before the election that he supported the proposition.
“Part of our process of selecting a home port city and our decision to come to Kimmswick was not only to highlight the historical significance of the Delta Queen, but also of Kimmswick,” he said. “We knew from day one we wanted to make a contribution to Kimmswick, and this (tax) is the best way to do that.”
The Delta Queen steamboat is docked in Houma, La., waiting for the U.S. Congress to vote on an exemption that would allow the boat to cruise on inland waterways. Even if the boat isn’t allowed to offer cruises, it could be permanently docked in Kimmswick and operate as a hotel, and the city could charge the business license fee for revenue collected there, Stang said.
Delta Queen already has opened a restaurant, called the Port of Call, in the former Old House restaurant building in Kimmswick.
The city won’t be able to collect money from the sale of food and drinks at the restaurant, Stang said.
However, there’s a strong chance a museum related to the Delta Queen could open in the city, and revenue from its admission fees also would be subject to the fee, Stang said.
He said the city needs the new source of revenue because it currently has limited resources, with 75 to 80 percent of its annual budget of about $200,000 to $250,000 coming from events such as the Apple Butter and Strawberry festivals.
The rest is generated by a 1 1/2 percent sales tax, with 1 percent dedicated to the general fund and the remainder used for street maintenance, he said.
Stang said the city needs more money to better address flooding issues, as well as to improve infrastructure.
