Photo by drtana

The National Park Service’s apparent eviction of Jack’s Boathouse from the Georgetown waterfront continues to get weirder. Now, the Park Service says that the eviction notice was issued earlier this month because the lease under which the boathouse has been operating is woefully out of date.

The Washington Post reports that when Jack’s Boathouse passed ownership in 2009 from founder Jack Baxter to Baxter’s son, Frank, and Paul Simkin, the lease was not updated with the new owners’ names. Not that the oversight prevented the Park Service from collecting rent over the past three years.

After fans of the Potomac landmark reacted in protest, the Park Service put a hold on the eviction, but agency spokeswoman Carol B. Johnson tells the Post that it might not be for long. The Park Service wants a boathouse on the Georgetown waterfront, and Jack’s is one option:

Johnson said the Park Service determined it would be “inappropriate and legally questionable” to offer the concession to Simkin without opening the process up to other bidders. She said Simkin may bid on the contract.

Simkin tells the Post he’d be open to making a bid if the competition is fair.