Extension Approved for Tug John Purves

The 149-foot John Purves, built in 1918, was donated to the Door County Maritime Museum in 2003 and opened as a floating exhibit in 2008 after being restored. File photo.

A tugboat moored for tours by the Door County Maritime Museum will be able to dock there for $1 for another year under a lease agreement approved Tuesday by the Common Council.

Council members approved a recommendation by the city’s Finance/Purchasing and Building Committee to extend the lease with the museum through the middle of next June and work to develop a new lease to dock the tug John Purves.

The 170 feet of waterfront dock space where the tugboat is moored was previously made available through a lease between the Door County Maritime Museum and the city’s Waterfront Redevelopment Authority, which is being phased out.

City administrator Josh Van Lieshout informed the committee that the city’s goal is to renew the lease with the museum to continue to moor the tug along the West Waterfront with a rate that is “reasonable and customary.”