Monday, July 1, 2013

Someone will pay the price for Norfolk's cruise terminal collapse


Someone will pay the price for the collapse of Norfolk’s cruise terminal
But whom?
Certainly not the City Council members who voted for this boondoggle in the first place and patted themselves on the back for their foresight.
Certainly not the avid supporters and advocates in the community who stood to benefit financially from taking care of the ships and passengers.
Put simply, the city is in debt.
To finance construction of the cruise terminal, the city issued $32.4 million in bonds and then strong-armed the Virginia Port Authority to throw in another $5 million.
Someone has to pay the tab.
The ships are gone and so is the revenue. In fact, the cruise terminal never broke even in the first place.
Year after year, the city took money from one pot to pay for expenses, including the debt service on the bonds.
How will the city pay its debt?
Don’t expect the city to reduce its subsidies to Bruce Thompson.
Don’t expect the city to transfer money from pet projects which still have yet to prove their merit.
And don’t expect the city to stop buying land or selling land for less than half of its value.
Old habits never die.
Because that’s how it is done in Bi-Polar on the Bay.
It’s senseless to imply that campaign donations influence some of these decisions. You can just point out the facts and let readers decide.
So who will pay?
The children who need programs to learn how to read and write.
The children who need after-school care because their parents work 2-3 jobs to pay for escalating rents.
The city might cut a program for the mentally ill and the homeless.
Maybe city employees will be furloughed.
Maybe the city will cease and desist underwriting the risk that developers should be assuming and not government. (I doubt it.)
The decision to pay the debt on an empty cruise terminal has far-reaching ramifications.
They reach into every neighborhood and every community in Norfolk.
This is the crux of the problem.
Politicians who never asked “what happens if the cruise ships leave?”
Cruise ships are mobile. A cruise terminal, a building with all the trappings, is stationary.
Did anyone ever raise this issue?
I don’t think anyone wanted to address it for fear of a backlash from their constituents.
Politicians never ask “what if.” They are guided by their ego, their “very special constituents” and the next election.
And city staff is too afraid to question their motives or to point out that the emperor has no clothes.
It’s sad, really.
But, remember, we are a very special city: All-American city.

Footnote:  Yes, Mr. Protogyrou, we have a new business model. It’s called Hatch Norfolk. (If Zack Miller reads this post, he may choke on his gourmet breakfast sandwich.)

Limited posts this week due to Independence Day celebrations, vacations and summer camp for seniors.


Published by Indie News Network LLC

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