Milwaukee County to assume responsibility of salvaging abandoned lakefront boat, seek financial reimbursement from owners

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The S. S. Minnow. Deep Thought. Milwaukee's Boat.

Whichever name you call it, the vessel that's captured southeast Wisconsin's attention over the last six months since getting stranded near Bradford Beach on the city's lake front is still stuck.

The question on everyone's mind? When will it get removed and who is responsible?

After months of debate, District 3 County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, whose area encompasses where the vessel was abandoned, told CBS 58 it is now ultimately Milwaukee County's responsibility.

“It’s in built-up landfill bedrock of the lakeshore. Milwaukee County owns it," Wasserman said.

The boat has since become a tourist attraction, the center of online social media memes, and even has its own pin on Google Maps. 

“What’s become what was initially kind of a funny joke is really a serious situation because at the end of the day, if someone gets hurt, what are we going to do about it?" Wasserman said. “It’s like an abandoned building where people want to go in, they want to explore, but people can get hurt."

That safety aspect is one of the main reasons Wasserman said the boat needs to go.

“They’re going to be drawn by this thing and we’re going to have a tragedy on our hands," Wasserman said. “We can’t do another summer with this, another six months.”

Now, officials are searching for the most affordable and best way to salvage and remove the vessel, which could cost taxpayers up to $100,000 dollars.

That cost would be reimbursed, but from whom?

“The people who purchased it did not sign over the title to their state so they don’t have ownership of it so this is in a gray area of ownership where it might actually be the old owner," Wasserman said.

The "old owner" is a couple who live in Michigan, who originally sold the boat to a couple out of Mississippi who are responsible for the stranding, but who have since returned home and have refused calls from CBS 58.

“We know who they are, but we have not had contact from what I’ve been told by the lawyers," Wasserman said. 

When asked if it was fair for the costs to fall on the old owners, Wasserman said "it's a legal question."

"It just doesn’t belong on our lakefront, and we need to have it removed," Wasserman said. 

County officials said they are working on a plan for the salvaging, and although the timeline for that remains unclear, Wasserman said they're hoping the removal will be finished no later than May 1.