TOWER— In a six-minute special meeting here, on Tuesday, the Tower City Council voted to reject demolition bids opened at their Feb. 12 meeting for work on the former Standing Bear Marina.

The facility, now owned by Your Boat Club, is slated for significant renovation beginning this year. But first, the new owners want to clear away old docks and dock canopies, which had fallen into disrepair over the years, and they were planning to utilize the IRRRB’s commercial demolition program to pay for much of that work, which requires the city’s involvement.

The week before, the council had opened two dramatically differing bids for the demo work, which prompted them to table action until they could consult further with their engineers, the IRRRB, and the new marina owners.

Bringing the issue back on Tuesday, the council voted to reject both bids.

The council then approved a resolution authorizing the city to apply for demolition funds from the IRRRB.

The council then approved a new request for bids for a modified demolition project that excludes the previous call for removal of a portion of sea wall near the marina building as well as interior walls within the building. Instead, the project will be limited to the removal of dilapidated docks and dock canopies, to clear the way for new docking which is already on order, according to the new owners.

City officials expressed concern that the removal of the sea wall could require a DNR permit, which could push the project timeline out by months. The Your Boat Club owners want to complete much of the dock demolition while there’s still ice on the river this winter.

“We may still come back at a later point and deal with the sea wall and the interior marina wall through the demo program,” said City Clerk Treasurer Linda Keith. “But getting the docks and canopies out is the top priority.”