The following letter to the editor was received by former Mayor, Ellen O. Moyer.
Let’s Make A Deal
A recent article in the Capital stated that the owners of Fawcetts laughed at an offer of 4 million Dollars to buy their property. Evidently they believed the value of the Fawcetts site to be worth more.
This raises the question of the value of the 2 parking lots that book-end the Fawcetts site owned by the City. Of similar size, is the value of the City property in excess of 4 million dollars too?
The Mayor is proposing to give the City property to a prospective developer in what he calls a land swap for 30 feet of boardwalk for pedestrians that leads to nowhere.
What a deal!
In 2011, a consultants report on harbor flooding( now forgotten) recommended
retro-fitting storm drains and installing an underground pump under the Donner parking lot for capturing and redirecting flood water.
An unintended consequence of the land swap sweetens the deal for the new private owner who could extract additional income from the public till for leasing the site for the proposed infrastructure improvements. Is this a fiscal train wreck in the making?
Let’s make a deal.
Let’s meet public expectations for a thorough, transparent, economic, fiscal comprehensive analysis of all things related to the arena of the City Dock described by the Mayor as a National Treasure and Crown Jewel before we give away land, change zoning, height and bulk ordinances to satisfy developer demands.
Ellen Moyer Eastport
