It wasn’t made public at the time, but records requested by The Vicksburg Post reveal the landing at City Front was part of the deal when the City of Vicksburg sold other property for casino development 15 years ago.

A contract signed by Harrah’s and Vicksburg officials in December 1992 gave ownership rights to the casino but allowed the city to lease City Front for $1 a year, former Mayor Joe Loviza said.

&#8220This started in the latter part of Robert Walker’s administration and I inherited it,” Loviza said. &#8220In order for Harrah’s to come to Vicksburg, they wanted room for two boats, not one boat. So we had to give them an extra 500 feet on the waterfront to accommodate a second boat.”

But the city wanted to maintain access to the property, and Harrah’s agreed to lease it.

For the entire period, people have had open access to the landing, the city has maintained it and excursion boats have used it – all while it is technically private property.

&#8220It was a swap-out deal,” Loviza said. Harrah’s &#8220hoped business would be good and wanted another boat in the future.”

However, 10 years later, Harrah’s was sold to Horizon and that casino, owned by Columbia-Sussex Corporation of Fort Mitchell, Ky., agreed to the same deal. The only exception was a change in the reversion clause, which was extended 10 more years.

&#8220We amended the master agreement with Horizon to extend the reversion clause (to 2023),” City Attorney Nancy Thomas said. &#8220We had to reacquire the property and reconvey it.&#8220

Horizon and Columbia-Sussex officials did not return messages seeking comment on the agreement.

The reversion clause allows the city to reacquire City Front if Horizon does not develop the property for a second casino. If it does decide to add another boat, it must pay the city hundreds of thousands of dollars and develop another 450 feet north of the property.

&#8220If Horizon ever wants to put a second casino there, they would pay $450,000, plus construct a new facility north of waterfront for mooring and docking,” Thomas said.

Access to City Front would continue to be possible in that situation also, because the master agreement mandates the city would lease the second property for $1 a year.

&#8220The city shall have the right to use the second riverboat property in the manner it was being used as of the effective date,” the contract says. &#8220The city and the general public shall have access through the floodwall at some point to such new docking and mooring structure.”

Horizon can terminate the lease by giving 120 days notice and paying the city $450,000, &#8220adjusted by the consumer price index, plus 1.5 percent at second riverboat casino net revenues,” the contract says.

Mayor Laurence Leyens said Horizon owns City Front from the south flood wall, owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to the north entrance and down to the edge of the Yazoo Diversion Canal.

&#8220They own from the wall all the way to the water,” he said. &#8220The entrance you ride into is the northern line. They own that and back to their property. They don’t own the area behind the train depot.”

Horizon also does not own the wall on which 21 murals have been painted. The original deal with Harrah’s included a mix of private land and public property, including the then city-owned six-story parking garges.

At City Front, reaction to such an agreement was mixed.

&#8220You mean to tell me I’m sitting on Horizon’s property?” Johnny Bass, 72, said. &#8220I’ve been coming here since about 1960. I just don’t know about this. I’m afraid they’re going to cut this thing out for a second casino. I’m just goofing off down here fishing.”

Two other Vicksburg men, while launching their boat into the canal, said they didn’t know Horizon owned City Front. They fish regularly from the canal and don’t like the risk of losing access.

&#8220I wouldn’t want the city to get rid of this launch here,” John Faulk, 37, said. &#8220We come down all the time.”

Trey Summers, 21, agreed.

&#8220I wouldn’t want them to put a second boat here. This is a better place to put in a boat than LeTourneau.” The county maintains a river access site off U.S. 61 South near the oil-rig manufacturing industry.

Another Vicksburg man who asked not to be identified also said he believed City Front was owned by the city.

&#8220It would be awful for people like me, for fishermen, to lose access to the Mississippi River here,” he said. &#8220That would be a shame. I thought this was city property.”

Ann Jones, who operates Mississippi River Tours with her husband, Jimmy, said she hasn’t had any problems with the city’s agreement with Horizon and, before then, with Harrah’s.

&#8220We think the waterfront is more attractive than it used to be,” she said. &#8220We feel it’s the best place for us to be. We like being in the area of the Art Park and murals.”

The Art Park at Catfish Row is directly west of City Front and faces the murals and is on public land.

But, Jones said, she doesn’t like to think about the possibility of losing City Front to a second casino.

&#8220I suppose the city would have to develop a different launching area for the boats if that happened,” she said. We like being there. If we had to move, we’d just have to move, unless we could make an arrangement with Horizon.”

The Joneses began operating the tour company in 2003, two years after boat rides were open to the public.

Before that, passenger tours on the Mississippi ended when David and Peggy Schaeffer closed Mississippi River Adventures and sold their passenger jet boat to a Washington company.

The Schaeffers began operating from City Front in 1990 but left 11 years later during a rift with the Walker administration over rent and duties.

&#8220We’ve been happy with our relationship with the city and Horizon,” Ann Jones said. &#8220We attract a pretty good number of people, so I don’t see why anyone would want to run us off.”

During the summer, she said, about 1,300 people each month tour the river.

&#8220We have church groups and some parties on the boat, and we have the regular tourists. We also get field trips and things like that.

The master agreement doesn’t specify whether Horizon or the city is responsible for maintaining City Front. However, the Vicksburg Fire Department regularly cleans the property, Deputy Chief Rose Shaifer said.

&#8220When the water is going up and down, we try to keep it clean by clearing the mud off it. We have been doing it for years, and it gives us a chance to get some practice in. It’s nothing new to us.”

The maintenance at City Front is necessary because &#8220so many people launch their boats from down there,” Ann Jones said.

&#8220The factor is the rise and fall of the river, which is pretty drastic, and city crews have to get in and wash it down. It’s very important it looks nice and well maintained.”

While city employees maintain City Front, they also provide security.

&#8220I didn’t know Horizon owns City Front, but we patrol everywhere in the city,” Vicksburg Police Chief Tommy Moffett said.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said he didn’t know about the agreement, either.

&#8220But that’s just a place where we put in our boat,” he said. &#8220Who owns it has never been given a thought. We regularly patrol the harbor and the Mississippi River border waters, to include the bridges and LeTourneau. We also patrol Eagle Lake and other waters.”

The Legislature approved casino development along the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast in 1990, and the first casino opened in Vicksburg in August 1993. During the initial flurry, as many as 10 projects were announced for sites up and down the riverfront and Yazoo Diversion Canal.