Burlington, IA – Burlington is getting out of the water park business.
The Burlington City Council has agreed to end the city's partnership in the Huck's Harbor water park with Great River Entertainment. The company also owns Fun City and Catfish Bend Casino.
Great River Entertainment will pay the city $180,000/year for the next ten years, without interest.
The payments will cover the city's initial investment of $1.8-million. City manager Doug Worden says the other option was a one-time, lump-sum payment.
Worden says that if the city council had taken the lump-sum payment, Burlington would have been on the hook for around $200,000 in capital expenses and operating losses. He says Great River Entertainment waived those fees since the city accepted the no-interest, 10-year repayment plan.
Worden says the annual payment from Great River Entertainment should cover the city's costs associated with borrowing the initial $1.8-million for the project. He says the water park has had a hard time turning a profit, which has meant the city has not received the revenue it initially expected.
The water park opened in 2006