Burlington, IA- The Burlington City Council on Monday, April 18th voted against the removal of the concrete stage at the Port of Burlington. The council unanimously voted against the removal of the concrete stage due to the cost of such a project. City Councilman Matt Rinker voiced concerns, mostly surrounding the cost of the project, which was originally believed to be about $85,000. "It's not 85 grand, its closer to 200 or more, " Rinker said. "And, that's a number I just can't swallow at this point." Rinker stated that with the TIGER project currently underway, the removal of the stage is not a priority of the city. "I feel there's a lot of other need we need to address, " Rinker said. "Also, when we walked into the TIGER project, it's already over budget, we have no idea where those are going to go over the next couple of years because we're at the very beginning of this project." Burlington Riverfront Entertainment Executive Director Mike O'Neil spoke to the council, and stated that the stage is no longer needed, and has not been used for concerts in some time.