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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