The organization Destination Bayfront has asked our city council to pledge bond money to help fund their project. Destination Bayfront would like to enter a public-private type business deal with the city of Corpus Christi. It is asking the city to assign a point of contact person to work with, consider a public led bayfront plan when reconsidering the re-alignment of Shoreline Blvd. and to allocate leftover bond money to their project.
Basically what this organization is asking for is to be the entity that builds and runs this park, if ever built.
What leftover bond money are they asking to be allocated to their project? In 2008 voters approved a 13 million dollar bond for the re-alignment and improvement of Shoreline Blvd. Now for whatever reason this bond carries language that says the money may be used for improvements to a park that will be created on the bay side of Shoreline Blvd after re-alignment. How did the people that wrote this bond in 2008 even know that there would be a park built on the bay side of the newly re-aligned Shoreline Blvd.? Well you will see as we digger alittle further.
Now it is reported that the cost of the re-alignment project will total somewhere around 8 to 9 million dollars, leaving four possibly five million leftover. Now lets think about this for a second. In 2008 the citizens voted in favor of re-aligning and improving Shoreline Blvd. At that time the public was not overwhelmingly informed about any park that might be built, much less having the extra money pay for it. Another question is did our city engineers shoot way to high in saying that it would cost 13 million dollars to make these improvements as well as the re-alignment? Now we are told that it will only cost 9 maybe even 8 million dollars. Or in 2008 did someone know that it wouldn't cost nearly that much but if they could get the 13 million dollars approved by the public, there would be extra money to fund their park project?
Before we go any further we here at Loose Topics want to state that we are all for developing our city. We have always stated that more business and more jobs is what this city needs, so in part the idea of this park is a good one. What we do not stand for is this city and some of the major players in this city using taxpayer dollars to fund their projects. If investors want to come here and invest that is wonderful, but we don't believe that honest hard working tax payers should be footing the bill for these projects. Our tax dollars should be used elsewhere.
Lets look at where this proposed park by Destination Bayfront will be. It will be on 27 acres stretching from Holiday Inn Emerald Beach to the Corpus Christi Art Center. That is a good size park. It is suppose to have a market square, a fishing pier, connected by a shoreline promenade connecting 10 different destinations. It is reported there will be beach volleyball courts, a dog run, water sports, a zip line and a carousel. Ok like we said we are all for development here and this proposed park as potential. But lets look at how it may come about and who stands to really profit from it.
Destination Bayfront and their organizer Trey McCampbell are asking for the city to allocate 4 to 5 million dollars to their project right? Yet they stated they want this to be a public-private venture right? So how much has the private sector or investors put up to date? 130,000 dollars. Yep that is it 130,000 dollars by the private sector versus 4 to 5 million dollars by the public sector. Who are these private investors? Mr. McCampbell wants to keep that a secret. Why? Because maybe if we find who has invested, even such alittle amount, we will find out who really stands to profit from this project. Seems way more public then private huh.
Bond money is not generated over night it takes time to generate bond money. Bonds are usually voted on to be used withing fours after being passed. That is why you see projects that are just now starting with signs saying "Your 2008 bond money at work". They law states they must at least start the project, it does not have to be completed prior to the four years expiring. What exactly is a bond? A bond is a secured loan based upon future tax revenue, one the tax payer is responsible for paying. That is why a bond must be voted on by the citizens. So in simple terms Destination Bayfront is asking the city to give them loaned money that the tax payers must pay back, not the non profit organization that is going to use the money. Hmmm
Now if we here remember correctly this same group, Destination Bayfront, was strongly opposed to using public funds to save and restore the Memorial Coliseum. They were very clear about this in the past years. So why now do they find it ok to spend public money to finance their project? Sounds alittle hypocritical to me.
Sure developing the bayfront is a great idea, but using public tax payer money to fund it is not. Where are all the investors that say they want development here? So far only 130,000 dollars has been put up by them and they are even to scared to say who they are. Lets be honest, we all stand to get use out of this new Destination Bayfront project, but a few stand to make alot of money from it.
How do you feel about someone being given free tax payer money, and using it for something other then it was intended for? How do you feel about a organization that was so opposed to using public funds to help save a city landmark, now wanting to use public money for their own project? How do you feel about a public-private business venture, where the public myst front the majority of the money? Think about these questions because they all pertain to this situation.
Tell us what you think.
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