Posted on 01/13/2009 12:56:40 AM PST by BellStar
CORPUS CHRISTI — The city is likely to commit $20,000 toward restoring the one ship in the Columbus replica fleet that's still floating, Mayor Henry Garrett said Monday, describing a proposed partnership with the Consulate of Spain in Houston.
"I believe spending $20,000 to get the ship in tip-top shape would be worth it," he said.
Under the proposed agreement, the city's money would pay for iron and wood to restore the Niña, which is part of a replica fleet of the ships that Christopher Columbus sailed in 1492.
In exchange, a group of donors that includes the Mitchell Foundation in Galveston, an unnamed company only referred to in planning documents as "Company X" and the government of Huelva, Spain, would pay for labor costs to repair the ship.
As part of the agreement, the ship would be displayed in the Port of Galveston for at least three weeks and then at a sailing race in Kemah.
The ship would return to Corpus Christi, this time with a local group of supporters in partnership with the Mitchell Foundation to oversee the ship's upkeep.
The city hasn't yet signed an agreement with the Spanish consulate for the repairs, but Garrett said he didn't think the deal would require City Council approval.
Instead, he said, the council likely would hear a presentation on the project, but may not take a vote. Expenditures smaller than $50,000 don't require council approval.
Tentative details were discussed during a meeting Monday between Garrett, City Manager Angel Escobar and Fernando Iglesias Moral of Corpus Christi, an honorary Consul of Spain.
The Niña has a damaged hull, needs a new deck and has a weak mast, according to previous surveys of the ship.
"It's a shame," Moral said. "You see it falling apart and you have a feeling like 'What happened?' We want to fix the Niña and we want to help the city."
Rick Stryker, the director of the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, originally estimated the ships would cost $1 million each to restore. In November, the Spanish construction company that originally built the ship visited Corpus Christi and estimated restoration cost between $100,000 and $150,000, Moral said.
Escobar would decide whether to sign the agreement once it's finalized. He couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.
Garrett said that if that final agreement stays along the same terms of the negotiations, he doesn't foresee a problem.
"Everything we're talking about is estimates," he said. "I want to make sure we don't spend more money than we think."
The Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria replica ships docked in Corpus Christi in 1993 after a tour celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus's journey.
A barge crash severely damaged the Pinta and Santa Maria in 1994 and they weren't returned to the water after the repairs. All three have steadily deteriorated since. The Niña, docked at the Peoples Street T-head, is in the best condition. The other two are on concrete platforms outside the museum.
The ships, commissioned by Spain in the late 1980s, have damaged hulls, decks and masts after years without proper maintenance.
If all three ships were restored, it would cost about $300,000 a year to maintain them, Stryker said.
Contact Sara Foley at 886-3767 or foleys@caller.com
As part of the agreement, the ship would be displayed in the Port of Galveston for at least three weeks and then at a sailing race in Kemah.
This is a good story about you South Texas!
Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria will cost $300,000 a year to maintain! Easy now that company X is in the mix!
With no naysaying intent, but what would restoring rotted out replicas accomplish for the city/state? I’m sure the city could use the $ by shredding the boats and selling baggies of splinters on Ebay.
My reaction is similar to yours, although not as extreme. This might be a fun project, but it's not the business of government to do this. They just need to find more donors to support it. Perhaps develop an association of businesses that might profit from it such as tourist shops and restaurants around the area it'll be berthed, for instance.
We have several tall ships and old navy ships that the Tourist pay to board and buy signature line souvenirs that far exceeds the maintenance fee for up keep. Tourist dollars my dear! And I for one as do others think these are really cool and realistic replica ships.
FIREWOOD!!!
I imagine there is a difference between our 2 states. We are #1 in unemployment, emigration, new business, home devaluation, gas tax(proposed) etc... Might just have something to do with our governor - the next commerce secretary- Jennifer Grandtheft.
Oh, yes! I have read here on threads about your tough times. Please God give us all another Chance!
Is this something the government should be spending taxpayer money on?
If we can show this project will put Heads in Beads the state gives back some Tax Dollars for these and other projects. The TAX we get back is the Hotel Tax we paid in. It is part of the States Economic Development plan.
Down here in South Texas the ships are called the “Columbus shipwrecks.” The city of Corpus Christi has totally mismanaged these ships to the point of ruin. As far as making them an attraction, they hid them under a bridge and enclosed them with a high screen so that visitors and tourists could not get a FREE look at them.
They should have been visible to the public as they entered the waterfront area so that they could be the centerpiece of the downtown shoreline. Did they do that? Nooooooooo.
Just another example of how political management of Corpus Christi embarrasses us all.
They are actually pretty nice. It’s a shame to think they are on their last leg.
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