The proposal to bring a heavy cruiser to Milwaukee was sunk by the Lakefront Development Advisory Commission Wednesday night.

The commission voted unanimously to recommend to the Milwaukee County Board that the USS Des Moines should not be brought here.

The meeting, which was not open to public comment, reached this agreement after an hour and 40 minutes of discussion. The discussion focused on the board's obligation to the laws of the lakefront, the aesthetics of the surrounding area and the potential financial and environmental problems of the project.

"Our purpose is to decide whether or not the proposed site is an appropriate site at this time," said William Lynch, commission chairman.

The proposed site for the 716.5-foot long ship is the lakefront of Veterans Park, north of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

"It seems to me, just given the proportions of the USS Des Moines, there will be a non-negligible impact on the beauty, on the horizon, on the open space," said Ellen Brostrom, a commissioner.

Commissioner Rocky Marcoux read a statement from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, saying that the project goes against a 1994 plan designed to protect the lakefront and that the city does not support it.

Another concern was the cost of bringing the Des Moines to Milwaukee and whether it would require government subsidies.

"I think that that (financial) piece alone could create the stoppage of this project," Commissioner Lynne DeBruin said.

The project's supporters have only done some research into fundraising, said Joe Lombardi, a ship surveyor with Ocean Technical Services who appeared for the proponents of the Des Moines at the meeting.

"You have a vessel just north of here, a submarine, that is not marketed nationally but has 80,000 people visit a year, as I understand it," Lombardi said.

The submarine, the USS COBIA, is 80 miles north of Milwaukee in Manitowoc. It received about 40,000 visitors last year, and the average attendance is around 50,000, according to Bill Thiesen, curator and acting director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, which runs the COBIA tours. Thiesen said the submarine is probably the largest tour draw in the county.

Commissioner Robert Spindell said he did not see how the Des Moines would bring in enough visitors to be financially viable.

"I have not gotten a good feeling about how the proponents think they're going to get 150,000 people to come," Spindell said.

Tourism has dropped in general since 9/11, Thiesen said.

"I know that Milwaukee has a lot more resources and population than Manitowoc," Thiesen said. "You can always count on a certain amount of visitors there, certainly much more than we get in Manitowoc."

The commissioners also raised concerns about the environmental impact of the project. Commissioner Joe Davis said the ship would require a 1,000 gallon tank for waste disposal, and DeBruin said they needed to consider the impact that the required dredging would have.

In the end, the commissioners resolved to draft a report on the rationale for their decision. They emphasized the respect they have for veterans and the proponents of the project.

"Naturally, we're disappointed," said John Mozol, head of special projects for the USS Des Moines Historic Naval Ship Project. "It seems like they supported the project, just not the location at Veterans Park."

Mozol said he thought the proponents will keep pushing the project.

Christa Marlowe, 30, of Milwaukee, is an opponent of the project. "I thought they gave very fair weight to all the different issues," she said.

The Parks, Energy & Environment Committee will discuss and possibly vote on the issue at their next meeting on March 1, DeBruin said.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 10 2005.