Mayor’s Musings: Willamette River Queen

Written by: Newberg Mayor Bill Rosacker
“Mayor’s Musings” is the opinion of Mayor Bill Rosacker and does not represent of the city council, city staff, or Newsberg Media LLC. The column is submitted by mayor Rosacker and edited only for grammar and clarity.

Captain Richard who owns and operates the “Willamette River Queen” contacted me recently. The Willamette River Queen is a sternwheel boat that is and has been operating as a tour boat as well as a wedding venue and party venue from downtown Salem for over 20 years.

It is for sale and has been for 4 years. Captain Richard is 84 years old. He is ready to retire, although he is willing to continue to drive the boat for a time after the sale.

I have visions of a riverboat operating from Newberg’s Roger’s Landing offering wine cruises, or birthday and anniversary cruises, office parties, Christmas cruises etc…Right?  So I went to visit the riverboat.

Captain Richard is a character and a gentleman. He purchased the boat from Cascade Locks and has developed an apparently successful business. He is exactly what a riverboat captain should be; he even looks like one.

I don’t mean to demean Captain Richard, but the boat is showing signs of age and needs to be updated and freshened. All in all it appears to be in good shape mechanically and structurally.

If you are following me, you are thinking: “Why shouldn’t the city buy it?” 

I talked to the city manager, Will Worthey, and he reminded me that the two happiest days in the life of a boat owner are:

1. The day he buys his boat, and…
2. The day he sells the boat.

Suffice to say that neither the city manager nor the mayor would choose to have the city buy the boat.

This is where the citizens get to act. If there is a desire to have a sternwheeler based at Roger’s Landing and think it would be an asset, here is how it could be done:

1. Contact Yamhill County to see if they would be okay with it being docked there. I will ask the commissioners. 
2. Find a group of passionate people who would be crazy enough to devote lots of volunteer time to be on a board of directors, and officers. They would run the “business” and be responsible for making decisions about how it is run. They would Form a non-profit (501 c-?) organization. Newberg Riverboat Inc.?
3. Sell ownership shares for $350.00 each: 1000 shares minimum in the pool. I want to buy certificate #0001.
4. Apply for grants; economic development grants or historic grants through the state Park and Rec.
5. Seek out local experts like Anvil Academy, Tiger Manufacturing, and local mechanics and carpenters to volunteer their time to repair and maintain the boat.

The current asking price is $600,000. I suspect that it is not worth the asking price, but I am not an expert.

Newberg is by far in the best position to purchase it, because Newberg is currently the only location that can take delivery without loading it onto a truck and removing power lines from its travel path.

If there is enough interest we would need to have an inspection by an expert, and then negotiate the sales price and terms. Given the totality of the situation, a group from Newberg would be in a strong position.

A passenger vessel must have regular inspections from the coast guard. This boat is licensed until this spring, and it is past due for an out of the water inspection on its fiberglass hull. Because the Willamette Falls locks are not operating, this will need to be done locally without a dry dock.

We need champions, people of action. Together our community can, if we wish, make this happen. My action tag line for 2025 is… Why not Newberg?

Mayor’s Musing is written by Newberg Mayor Bill Rosacker. Any questions or comments can be directed to bill.rosacker@newbergoregon.gov.