HALF a dozen bids have been made by those wanting Albury’s Cumberoona paddlesteamer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
An expression of interest process for the disposal of the Cumberoona closed a week ago.
Albury Council’s community and recreation director James Jenkins said six submissions had been received under the public offer process.
“Those submissions will now be assessed against the appropriate criteria,” he said.
Mr Jenkins said a report with a recommendation would now go to the council’s community and cultural committee on November 17.
That would go to the full council for a possible final decision on November 25.
For commercial-in-confidence reasons, the council would not provide any further detail on the submissions.
That includes matters including whether the submissions had been made by those from the region, or from other parts of Australia.
The council has four options in getting rid of the Cumberoona.
They are to dismantle it and sell its parts; have it taken from Albury; or have it stay in the area and either be used on the Murray River or not at all.
The first option for the Cumberoona, which has spent several years in dry dock, has been previously described as a worst-case scenario.
The Cumberoona has local heritage significance in the council’s local environment plan, which was adopted in 2010.
A report prepared by consultants on possible heritage impacts was tabled earlier this month.
Possibilities under this plan included inserting a clause in the sale agreement that stipulated interested community members be allowed to attend working bees on the boat, as well as compiling an archival photographic record of the paddlesteamer.
The council has previously estimated it might reap $170,000 from selling the Cumberoona, which has cost it an estimated $2.5 million over more than two decades.