Cruise ship Katahdin could sink Question 2

Richard “Duke” McKeil hopes he is not the reason Question 2 fails at the polls Tuesday.

Question 2 asks voters to let the state borrow nearly $35 million to fund 11 different initiatives, from fighting terrorism to funding biomedical research.

Number 10 on the list is McKeil’s request for $30,000 that would be used to renovate the cruise ship, The Katahdin, which is moored on Moosehead Lake in Greenville. The money doesn’t go directly to McKeil, but rather to the Moosehead Marine Museum, a nonprofit organization overseen by McKeil that uses the ship for recreational and educational cruises.

McKeil this week said he is concerned about what voters might think when they see his request – the smallest of the 11 – among numerous multimillion-dollar endeavors. If voters don’t like his project, McKeil said he’s worried they might vote down the entire bond because it is part of the package.

He said he’s already heard comments that the Legislature should have given him a grant instead of including the money in a bond. But the state is facing a budget shortfall of more than $180 million, McKeil said, and some people have suggested that certain legislators up for election supported the project to get votes from Katahdin supporters.

“It smacks of pork barrel,” said McKeil, who insists that it is not. “The idea is economic development in this region, in Piscataquis and Penobscot counties. I think that if you’re going to spend $30,000 in Greenville, you put it in ‘The Kate’ because we attract so many people.”

Last year, more than 7,200 people cruised on The Katahdin between July 1 and Columbus Day. Ticket prices – which run between $20 and $26 for adults depending on the length of the cruise – don’t cover the cost of operating and maintaining the ship, McKeil said.

The Katahdin, given to the museum by Scott Paper more than 26 years ago, was “in terrible shape” and has undergone more than $500,000 in renovations during the last eight years. McKeil said the museum remains $50,000 in debt for some of the repairs even though summer residents have generously supported the renovations and upkeep.

Among the visitors to board The Katahdin this year will be passengers on the luxury rail line The Acadian that will run between Saint John, New Brunswick, and Montreal, Quebec. It will stop twice a week for two days at a time in Greenville, McKeil said, and on one of those days the visitors will cruise on The Katahdin. Their first outing is Monday.

McKeil said his $30,000 request is worth it because people go to Greenville to take cruises on The Katahdin. And they usually spend money in the community, buying meals or staying in hotels.

He said he understands why some people are commenting the way they are, but he doesn’t agree with them. And he said he wouldn’t vote down Question 2 just because the Moosehead Marine Museum needs $30,000 to refurbish The Katahdin.

“It’s up to the individual to decide,” McKeil said. “To me, it’s fairly cheap. I hope they can see it in the light of what it can do for the local economy.”