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Capt. Richard Chesbrough of the Willamette Queen sternwheeler may get $50,000 a year for five years as part of a four-month paid vacation, courtesy of the city of Salem.

City officials plan to pay him up to $250,000 to not take passengers along Willamette Slough during the winter and just keep his boat idle at the dock.

鈥淲e’ll do dockside dining,鈥� Chesbrough said. 鈥淵ou can still enjoy the ambience, and maybe I will make the paddles move a little for you.鈥�

Chesbrough would not be able to move the Willamette Queen anyway if city officials were to follow through on their plans to build a $9 million footbridge to connect Salem’s Riverfront Park to Minto-Brown Island. The proposed bridge would not be high enough for the Queen to pass underneath.

Chesbrough has been taking people along Willamette Slough and the main stem of the river for 12 years. Depending on how much rain Oregon gets, he is restricted to the slough during the winter months because the rest of the Willamette鈥檚 water is too high and choppy.

Rather than change their plans and build a bridge high enough to accommodate the Willamette Queen, city officials opted instead to pay for the business he would lose during the winter. Chesbrough said he hired a consultant who estimated that he brings in about $55,000 during those months.

City officials and Chesbrough last year compromised at $50,000. Chesbrough said it is only fitting the city pay him something.

鈥淲e’re the only ones impacted by it because we’re the only ones who use the slough during the winter when the water is rough,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he bridge will definitely cut into my business if this thing actually comes to pass.鈥�

Chesbrough said he is not holding his breath, however. The bridge will not be built until 2014 or 2015 by even the most generous estimates.

City officials are simply looking at the idea of a bridge to connect the two parks, said Annie Gorski, project manager with Salem鈥檚 Urban Development Department. Officials have not yet devised a funding strategy for the project; Gorski said they are looking at a variety of grants and private sources.

Nearly $2 million in Riverfront Downtown and South Waterfront urban renewal money has been committed to the bridge. A local nonprofit group, Friends of Two Bridges, is accepting private donations.

OBEC Consulting Engineers of Eugene designed the bridge, and GreenWorks provided conceptual drawings. The project鈥檚 permitting phase will start next spring.

There are a couple of reasons why the 600-foot, double-arch pedestrian bridge cannot be built high enough for the Willamette Queen, said Allen Dannen, Salem鈥檚 engineering program manager. Raising the bridge would make it prohibitively expensive, he said. It would also require long approaches or traffic spirals on both sides.

Both sides of the 14-foot-wide bridge need to be accessible to emergency vehicles, he added.

鈥淚t just wouldn’t fit to have a bridge in that area so high up in the air,鈥� Dannen said.

Gorski stressed that workers are only about 30 percent through the initial design phase. However, she said, at least there is an approved design.

An old railway bridge, converted into a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, helps link Wallace Marine Park in West Salem to the rest of the community across the river. That bridge draws approximately 1,000 bicyclists a day, Gorski said. The proposed bridge would expand accessibility to 1,000 acres of connected park land and 20 miles of trails.

Eventually, she added, five Salem parks will be connected, for an additional 200 acres.

鈥淭his will exceed the acreage of Central Park,鈥� Gorski said. 鈥淭his really is an exciting project for Salem.鈥�

Chesbrough, in his deal with the city, must keep the sternwheeler in continuous operation for the 12 months before construction blocks his access to the slough. He said he hopes people looking for a winter cruise will understand.

鈥淲hat it is is what it is,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ll explain that to our customers.鈥�