The borough assembly has approved a special eight-member committee to take the lead in negotiating a long-term lease with American Cruise Lines, which wants to build a $3 million floating dock on borough-owned tidelands near the Nolan Center.

The committee will focus on “what do we want and what don’t we want” in the lease, Mayor Patty Gilbert said on July 9.

“While the dock would be privately constructed and operated, public access provisions are under negotiation,” according to a borough staff report presented to the planning and zoning commission last month. “Key considerations include lease structure … public access, utility needs … (and) scheduling protocols.”

The company operates a pair of 170-passenger cruise ships in Southeast, with plans for a third, smaller vessel by 2028. It wants reserved dock space for its ships, which generally spend the night in port. That makes American Cruise Lines different than most other operators which pull into port for daytime visits and sail at night.

The company has requested a 40-year tidelands lease from the borough to build a floating dock to accommodate its ships. The cruise line has expressed the desire to complete the project and put the dock into use for the 2027 season.

The borough would fill in about two acres upland from the proposed facility to accommodate not only the dock approach but also to expand the usable land for the Marine Service Center and possibly provide a new location for the town’s freight barge landing.

The fill could cost an estimated $2 million to $5 million, which the borough could cover with borrowed money that would be repaid through fees paid by the cruise line for moorage and the tidelands lease.

With assembly approval on July 8, Mayor Gilbert named the special committee to lead negotiations with American Cruise Lines. The committee, which will start meeting this month, Gilbert said, will include herself, the borough manager, Harbormaster Steve Miller, Economic Development Director Kate Thomas, and the chairperson or someone else from each of the planning and zoning commission, economic development board, port commission and convention and visitor bureau.

The large membership represents a cross-section of community interests, the mayor said.

Whatever terms the committee negotiates with the cruise line would need to come back to the borough’s boards and commissions for review before going to the assembly for a public hearing and consideration, Gilbert said.